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REV. ELI A S ROOT B EA D L E, D. D v LED. 



MEMORIALS 

A 

OF 

Rev. ELIAS R. BEADLE, D. D., LL D. 




PHILADELPHIA: 

1881. 



PHILADELPHIA: 
THE CHANDLER PRINTING HOUSE, 
Nos. 306 & 308 Chestnut street. 
I 88 I . 



MEMORIAL SERMON 

PREACHED IN THE 

SECOND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, 

JANUARY 25, 1880, 

BY 

Rev. Herrick Johnson, D. D. 



JProv. xvi. : 23. 

" The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth, and addeth learning to his lips." 



A/T OUTH '" <<H P S >" "tongue," " words,"— there are 
1VX wrapped up in these such possibilities of power, that 
in Oriental imagery they often stand for all agency. How 
this is rung out in the Proverbs : — " He that keepeth his 
mouth, keepeth his life." " He that openeth wide his lips, 
it is ruin to him." " The words of the wicked are to lie 
in wait for blood ; but the mouth of the upright shall deliver 
them." " A wholesome tongue is a tree of life." " Death 
and life are in the power of the tongue." " Whoso keepeth 
his mouth keepeth his soul." 



2 



MEMORIAL SERMON. 



Certainly, speech is the great instrument of power with 
man. The tongue is a little member, but it is capable of 
doing most numerous and most mighty things. Talking is 
the trade of the race. To talk well is to have power. To 
talk supremely well is to be at the summit of power. Whence, 
then, comes supremacy of speech ? This is no light question 
for any man with a tongue, and the possibility of its use. It 
is the question of questions for all ministers of Jesus Christ, 
whose sole commission it is to preach, and who are nothing if 
they have not a mouth. 

Whence comes supreme speech ? How shall the mouth 
be taught ? Who or what shall be its chief and best teacher ? 
My text tells us : — " The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth 
and addeth learning to his lips." " Wisdom" in the Proverbs 
is substantially piety; the wise are the pious. "The heart" 
is the affectional nature, but something more ; the whole broad, 
deep, inner realm, where live, and move and have their being, 
the qualities so determinative of character, and so decisive of 
influence, and which must come to the lips when God's truth 
is spoken, in order to have that truth linked with and made 
potent by personality. This is the heart to which the mouth 
must go to school. And this, same heart " addeth learning to 



MEMORIAL SERMON. 



3 



the lips," by increasing the learners, i. e. t it wins a wider hear- 
ing for the mouth by giving it sweetness of speech, by putting 
such magic elements upon the lips as to compel men to listen 
to their talk. It attracts listeners, and so increases instruc- 
tion. It makes more wisdom to be taken, by increasing the 
charm of the wisdom to be taken. The head is also the 
mouth's teacher, and without a doubt it teaches some brilliant, 
grand things; but the aroma of speech, the glory of speech, 
the divine of speech is from the heart. For the heart is the. 
man. God lays the beams of his chambers there. Hence the 
command : — " My son, give me thy heart." The heart carries 
everything with it. When that is surrendered, all is. Hence, 
the proverb: — "A wise man's heart is at his right hand." 
" Right hand" symbols power, and a wise man's heart is the 
source and seat of it. " Wisdom is," indeed, "the principal 
thing," and "the price of it is above rubies." And wisdom 
is commonly supposed to be a matter of the brain. But the 
Scriptures say that the beginning of wisdom and the instruc- 
tion of wisdom is the fear of the Lord. And where is that 
lodged ! 

The Greeks sought after wisdom, and Paul gave them Christ, 
the wisdom of God. In Christ were hid all the treasures of 



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MEMORIAL SERMON. 



wisdom and knowledge. Yet in him wisdom never overtopped 
love ; or, rather, love was his chief wisdom. Men never for- 
got his gentleness in his grandest displays of power. Nay, in 
the depths of his infinite tenderness and sympathy and brood- 
ing compassion were the very hidings of his power. His 
heart taught his lips, and gave them their wonderful rhetoric. 
His suaviter was his fortiter. They were all amazed and won- 
dered at the gracious words that proceeded out of his mouth ; 
for never man spake like this man. His word was with power. 
Outcasts heard him, and felt that here at last, in his great heart, 
and in the heaven he preached, there was room for even them. 
Lost women heard him, and felt they need not be lost, and 
they bathed his feet with their penitent tears. But could the 
brain ever have put such sweetness, and yet such might of 
power, upon his lips ? Surely not. A sympathetic intellect is 
a contradiction. The winning, persuasive, love-commanding, 
and inspirational elements of personality all drop out of speech 
when the mouth has only the head for its teacher. The 
thought may be clear, weighty, even magnificent. But so 
may be the charity administered at arm's length, in a kind of 
lordly state, reminding the recipient, in every incident of its 
offer and reception, of the gulf between. The charity after 



MEMORIAL SERMON. 



5 



this sort, however magnificent, gets poor thanks. Why ? 
Because the way to gratitude is through a man's heart ; not 
through his pocket or stomach. But let sympathy flow along 
the channel of that beneficence, put a human heart in it, and 
though you diminish the proportions of the charity until its 
grand magnificence wholly disappear, it will call out instant 
and most hearty thanksgiving, full of joy and full of tears. 
So the thought of the mouth which has been taught by the 
head only, however brilliant and magnificent, is a cold ab- 
straction. It lacks the warmth and glow of personality ; it 
is light without heat. It, therefore, commands nothing, wins 
nothing, kindles nothing, wakes no response. The mouth 
has been at the wrong school. It must be taught of the 
heart if it would have its thoughts speak and its words burn. 

The Apostle puts " the kingdom and patience of Jesus 
Christ" together, as if they were an equal marvel. But the 
patience is even the greater marvel, for it is the way to the 
kingdom, and the cause of it. It is by and through the pa- 
tience that Jesus comes to his kingdom. It is the infinite 
patience and the kindred graces, put by his divine heart into 
his lips, that has given his word such power. 

And this is our road to power. See where Christ let his 



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MEMORIAL SERMON. 



benedictions fall. He never once spoke a beatitude on the bril- 
liant in intellect, or the profound in thought. He went deeper. 
He was after root things — basilar things ; he was intent on 
the foundation stones of character. The heart, the heart, he 
rained his benedictions there ; on meekness, purity, gentleness, 
forgivingness, sympathy, patience, compassion, tenderness, and 
suffering love. It is not my wish to belittle thought, or to 
abate by the faintest shadow those splendors with which the 
head is crowned. I would not bring the intellect down from 
its high seat, but I would give the heart a higher seat. I 
would place it where the Word of God places it : — " Let this 
mind be in you which was also in Christ." What mind? 
The mind to think great thoughts ? No ! grander than that 
— the mind to give the grandest thoughts expression in most 
compassionate word and deed ; the mind to become poor 
though rich, that through the poverty others may be rich ; 
the mind that led Jesus, who knew he was come from God, 
and went to God, and was God, to take a towel and gird him- 
self, and wash his disciples' feet. 

It is vital, indeed, that the mouth should have the head 
for a teacher. Else the mouth will be the merest " babbler" — 
anepfj.oXdyoQ f the Greeks had it — a picker up and peddler of 



MEMORIAL SERMON. 



7 



vain and empty talk. But if only the head teach the mouth, 
the potent spell of speech will be wanting. Men may admire, 
but they will not surrender. Men may wonder, but they will 
not be won. 

The chief glories that are given to the utterances of the 
mouth through the teachings of the heart, are these : — Cour- 
tesy, courage, sympathy, devotion, inspiration, and as the 
sum and crown of these, power. 

Courteous speech is born of the heart. There is a courtesy 
that goes no deeper than the letter, whose polish is wholly 
on the surface, a " dissembling courtesy," tickling where it 
wounds. Malice often wears it as an outergarment. There 
is a studied courtesy of speech that comes from culture, that 
is plausible and polite, that never allows itself to forget good 
breeding. But the lips that are taught of a consecrated heart, 
are courteous as by instinct. The honeyed sweetness grows 
on those lips — it is not laid thei;e. For courtesy of the true 
sort is (ptloippoabvq, kindly mindedness ; and therefore flows to 
the lips from the heart. Instead of being an outside thing, it 
is born in the very depths of the spirit. If nature has already 
made room for it, grace so fills and perfects the honeycomb 



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MEMORIAL SERMON. 



that the sweetness dropped from it through the lips adds to 
the savor of instruction and gives a graciousness to speech 
that is not weak and effeminate, but is more than manly, for 
it is divine. The perfect example of loving-minded speech is 
that of Jesus, and so " the highest sort of Christianity is a 
courtesy that never flags." 

Courageous speech is born of the heart. There is a courage 
that voices itself in brutal, bullying insolence and violence. 
There is also a courage that flouts at danger and death. But 
bravado and wantonness are not on the lips of true valor. 
Brave men in battle do not boast that they are not afraid. 
There is a courage still higher, that makes no boasts, while 
yet it dares and risks and suffers, but it is chiefly physical. 
-Higher, even than this, is the height of true courage. Ben 
Jonson, in his conception of it, was well toward the summit 
when he said : — 

" Fear to do base, unworthy, things is valor : 
If they be done to us, to suffer them 
Is valor too." 

Put Christ into that terse apothegm and you have courage 
at its best. It is moral courage, Christian courage, courage of 



MEMORIAL SERMON. 



9 



conscience and conviction, courage to speak the truth at what- 
ever cost. And the lips must be taught of a heart in great fear 
of God to speak after this fashion. Does the mouth get such 
teachings from the head ? Do we ever speak of a courageous 
or a cowardly brain, of a brave or a poltroon intellect ? These 
are adjectives of the heart. 

Sympathetic speech is born of the heart. What is sympa- 
thy ? It is a subtle something you will hardly find in the dic- 
tionary. It will not be defined by our poor speech. But take 
an approach to it — in the Greek, aup-ddzta from <t'jv t,6.6o^ 
"pathos with " —suffering together. Take the Latin, compas- 
sio, " passion with " — suffering together. In either case, sym- 
pathy — that bathed and flooded all Christ's speech, that gave 
so many of his deeds and words a tender and tearful pathos, 
and that has made him forever a high priest, that is able, 
GDvxadYjGo.c, to be tonclied with the feeling of 'our infirmities. 

Whence comes this subtle, winning quality of speech that 
makes words tremulous with tears and gives them such rare 
persuasiveness ? Passion, co-passion has but one home ; the 
mouth that would enrich its talk with the charm and glory of 
sympathetic speech must go to school to the heart. 



IO 



MEMORIAL SERMON. 



Devotional speech is born of the heart. We all know that 
there is not only a spirit of devotion, but a fitness and appo- 
siteness of verbal form for devotion. This deft structure of 
sentence, this happy choice and posture of words 'in prayer, 
and this indescribable aroma of devotion that pervades the 
prayer and pervades the sanctuary when some men of God 
stand between God and their people, giving to all, as by some 
breath from heaven, an uplifting sense — is this the work of 
an intellectual rhetorician and a pulpit perfumer, manufactur- 
ing pretty sentences with his head and flinging incense from 
his tongue as they fling it from censers ? Is it not rather the 
heart opened wide God-ward, as seeing Him who is invisible, 
and in that divine beholding learning the secrets of devotion 
and fellowship, and so touching the lips and teaching them 
their heavenly skill ? 

Inspirational speech is born of the heart. It is the heart 
stirred, thrilled, set on fire by great ideas, that sets the lips 
afire. Passion is eloquence. Argument with pathos means 
mastery. There is no battery in the head that will account 
for the electric effects of impassioned oratory. Ideas alone 
are not what make, in public speech, a real action of will on 



MEMORIAL SERMON. 



will, a bearing in on men to carry their judgments and their 
hearts ; hut ideas aglow with *the fire of enthusiasm, throb- 
bing with the fervor and magnetism of exalted feeling. It 
is wrestling energy of heart that gives wrestling energy of 
style. 

Thus far, in lifting memorial tablet here in this hallowed 
place, we have named no name. But I am sure a name has 
been all the while at the very door of our lips. Thus far we 
have been outwardly busy with an idea. But all the while I 
am sure our hearts have turned instinctively to a person as the 
illustration and embodiment of this idea. Somebody has said, 
" ideas are the persons of the intellect ; persons are the ideas of 
the heart." Certainly nothing less than truth in personality 
will satisfy our hearts this day. Who is the person ? Whose 
the name? Whose great heart so taught his mouth that its 
speech took on a courtesy that never flagged, and a courage 
that never blanched, and a sympathy that kept the tone like 
sweetest music, and moist with unseen tears, and a devotion 
that so often gave wings to listening worshipping pilgrims 
who had grown tired and foot-sore, and an inspiriting power 
that Sabbath by Sabbath thrilled men and women, lifting them 



MEMORIAL SERMON. 



ever out of lower levels to something higher and more Christ- 
like — whose but the heart of Elias R. Beadle, your beloved 
Pastor and our beloved friend, and God's beloved saint and 
son ? It is in him that God has set anew the great truth that 
" the heart is the man." It is in him that God has glorified 
quality of character and given us once more a nearer approach 
to the one divine model of manhood than is possible to pure 
intellect in its loftiest attainment. 

Let us look now a little in detail at his life. We may thus 
better see the man that lived it, and the character that was 
built in it. 

Dr. Beadle was born in Cooperstown, N. Y., October 13, 
181 2. He there, at the age of seventeen, first publicly con- 
fessed Christ, he and his mother uniting with the Church on 
the same day. About a year later, at a neighborhood prayer 

meeting, a prayer he offered so impressed a stranger in town 
1 

attending Court,* who had strayed into the meeting, that it 
led to a personal interview, and to such counsel and substan- 
tial encouragement as to induce young Beadle to begin at 
once preparation for that ministry for which the Church has 
now so abundant reason to thank God. A serious illness 



* Judge Alvan Stewart. 



MEMORIAL SERMON. 



13 



at this time left him in feeble health ; and here began that 
struggle with physical weakness which continued until he 
died, and which made his whole life an unending battle. 
Parts of two years were spent with a class in theology study- 
ing under Dr. E. N. Kirk, pastor of the Fourth Presby- 
terian Church, at Albany, N. Y. He then accepted an ap- 
pointment at Utica, N. Y., under the American Sunday School 
Union, and there in 1835, at the age of twenty-three, he was 
licensed to preach. At Buffalo, N. Y., the next year, he was 
ordained. Broken in health by his unceasing labors as a city 
missionary, he undertook the pastorate of the First Presbyte- 
rian Church in Albion, N. Y., where he remained two years, 
when with a heart aflame with missionary zeal, and a body 
somewhat restored in vigor, he offered himself to the American 
Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions to go to any field 
where a missionary was needed. He at once received an ap- 
pointment to the Druses of Mount Lebanon, Syria, and sailed 
June, 1839. Upon reaching Beirut he found war broken out, 
and his designated field closed against him. For three years 
and more he was changed from place to place in Syria, waiting 
for that Druses' door to be opened. He then went to Constan- 
tinople. But the necessity of acquiring a new language, and 



MEMORIAL SERMON. 



the effect of the climate made it seem to him advisable to re- 
turn to his own country. 

The following year he visited New Orleans, both to recruit 
his health, and to deliver a course of lectures on Syria. He 
continued in that city nine years., in labors abundant and 
most fruitful, in zeal ardent, in perils oft, amid epidemics 
and panics, sicknesses and calamities. Once at least he 
passed through the yellow fever plague, suffering sore be- 
reavement in his family and among his friends ; but every- 
where through it all he made " the chamber of sickness the 
chapel of devotion," and helped many a plague-smitten suf- 
ferer the dark way through by the solace and balm of his 
tender ministry. 

Three Presbyterian churches, the Third and the Fourth and 
the Prytania Street, were the fruits of his missionary zeal ; and 
of this last church he was the pastor from its formation until 
he was called to Hartford, Connecticut. While at New Or- 
leans he was intimately associated with the Rev. Dr. W. A. 
Scott, both in missionary work and in establishing and con- 
ducting the " New Orleans Presbyterian." Dr. Scott writes of 
him : — It is not possible for me to find language adequate to 
"the expression of the mutual sympathy and love that existed 



MEMORIAL SERMON. 



15 



"between us through so many years of sorrows and trials, and 
"yet of great successes, in New Orleans, in building up and 
" multiplying our churches in that city." 

At Hartford, where he was settled in 1852, he found the 
Pearl Street Church just formed. The young organization was 
full of fresh and commanding vitalities. The young leader had 
just passed his fourth decade. His New Orleans experience 
had deepened the tone of his piety, but it had not weighted 
his buoyancy. 

" The good are better made by ill, 
As odors crushed are sweeter still." 

And the enriched sympathies and enthusiasms of his nature 
soon won for him wide and joyful hearing, and through that 
hearing an almost passionate affection. His church grew. 
Young men crowded the galleries. Able preachers, like Doc- 
tors Hawes, Bushnell and Clarke, filled the pulpits around 
him. But few men have ever been loved by all classes as 
Beadle was loved in Hartford. In the intellectual fellowship 
of those pulpit giants the public gave him no mean place. In 
the sacred confidences of spiritual experience multitudes gave 
him supreme place. 

But the waters were not all smooth in those ten beautiful 



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MEMORIAL SERMON. 



Hartford years. He drew upon the body so that one day the 
body refused to honor his draft, and told him he could no 
longer have vitality on those terms. He was eight months 
in the West Indies repairing broken and wasted tissue. No 
one thought he would ever preach again. But back he came, 
and taking up his toil, he went on with it, with the same old 
zest. 

Once more the Hartford waters grew rough. It was in the 
intense excitements of the early Sixties, when the blood-red 
hand of war was lifted in the land. Words were spoken and 
positions taken that men, in their cooler moments, would not 
and did not justify. The result at last was Dr. Beadle's resig- 
nation. Thus was terminated a pastoral relation which, I am 
assured by one conversant with the facts, was " remarkable 
" for the strength of its attachment on both sides, and lor its 
" manifold results of good." 

The year following his resignation was spent abroad. Upon 
his return, in October, 1864, he received a call to the First 
Presbyterian Church, in Rochester, N. Y., but the climate 
proved unfavorable, and he never assumed full pastoral care 
of the Rochester Church. The next Autumn he was called 
to the Second Presbyterian Church in the City of Philadel- 



MEMORIAL SERMON. 



17 



phia, and over this historic and honored charge he was for- 
merly installed Nov. 12, 1865, having just crossed the thresh- 
old of his fifty-fourth year. Here he planned and toiled 
thirteen years, in the fullest maturity of his powers. When he 
accepted the trust the church was still worshipping at the old 
site on Seventh street. The situation was not promising. To 
use his own graphic words : — " The old prestige was gone. 
" God had evidently said by his providences long before, 
" ' Arise ye and depart, for this is not your rest.' It was almost 
" melancholy to see the fragments of these ancient and hon- 
" ored households gathered around the ashes of the fires which 
" their fathers had kindled, and which long ago had gone out." 

He found the church waning in numbers, struggling 
against the drift of business, and the tide of peoples, with 
little enthusiasm, bad environment, a doubtful future. He left 
the church gathered within these stately walls, with greatly 
augmented and augmenting numbers, with bounding enthu- 
siasm, and rejoicing as a strong man to run a race. This out- 
ward material temple lifting itself toward heaven in cruciform 
lines of stone is the fittest monument of his capable and con- 
quering zeal. Upon the polished living stones of this inner 

spiritual temple is writ his best memorial. 
3 



i8 



MEMORIAL SERMON. 



But his labors were not limited to his own church. Com- 
ing to this Metropolis, whose vast civic and industrial enter- 
prises are more than matched by her educational and scien- 
tific institutions, and by her multiform organized charities, he 
was immediately summoned to various positions of trust, and 
to the discharge of delicate and responsible duties far beyond 
his parish. He became at once an active working member 
of the Academy of Natural Sciences. He was early elected a 
trustee of the University of Pennsylvania, and held the posi- 
tion until his death. He was actively interested in the Insti- 
tutions for the Blind, and for the Deaf and Dumb. He knew 
the unsyllabled speech of the mutes, and could talk with them 
through his finger tips. He manifested the same interest in 
the House of Refuge, and when addressing the rough waifs 
within its walls, could hold their restless, wild natures as few 
men could. The prisoner also received no small share of his 
attention, and after his death one of the most beautiful memo- 
rial flowers, laid in tender tribute on his great, still heart, was 
placed there by a Roman Catholic, actively associated with 
him in " The Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries 
of Public Prisons." All deserving charities appealed most 
strongly to his compassionate nature. He gave to very many 



MEMORIAL SERMON. 



19 



of them official presence and influence; and no one of them all 
ever got from him a heartless advocacy. Let the words of 
his associates in the Board of Trustees of the University of 
Pennsylvania testify to the place he won for himself in the 
City, outside the immediate circle of his parishioners. In their 
tribute to his memory, after affirming his " wise and healthful 
influence " over their official proceedings, the Trustees further 
say : — " Possessing large intellectual gifts, which he sedulously 
" cultivated, versed in a wide range of human learning, a sci- 
" entist of recognized position in several specialties, a theolo- 
" gian of eminent ability, and at the head of a large and influen- 
" tial congregation, who loved and honored him for his pulpit 
" power and pastoral care, Dr. Beadle stood before this com- 
" munity a public man of the highest character as a citizen, as 
" a scholar, as a clergyman." 

Thus he stood in this place on a Sabbath morning one year 
ago, the souls of his people knit with his soul, as " the soul of 
Jonathan was knit with the soul of David." They had toiled 
and prayed together thirteen years. They had seen dark 
days. But that day was bright with hope, and vocal with the 
song of victory ; for it was officially announced that the en- 



20 



MEMORIAL SERMON. 



tire debt contracted in rearing this beautiful house of worship 
had been provided for. Joy was in every heart — the service 
was an exultemus. . A strain of triumph ran through all the 
song, and prayer, and speech. The sermon was on the trium- 
phant Lord, who " was manifest in the flesh, justified in the 
" spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed 
" on in the world, caught up into glory." Before morning 
dawned again the beloved Beadle was himself "caught up 
into glory," to be forever with his Lord. Just after the mid- 
night following that joyful Sabbath, he fell on sleep, January 
6, 1879. But though he was sixty-six years of age at his 
death, he was seemingly as quick of foot, as elastic and 
buoyant, as ready in speech and thought, and as fresh in 
mental energy, as when the flush of youth marked the 
spring-time of his ministry. The thirteen years of this last 
pastorate were therefore not the evening of his life. His life 
had no evening. From the high noon of it — from the mid- 
day glory of it — in obedience to the only " call " we may 
well believe that could ever have moved him from this 
pulpit — he passed on into the life eternal. A few quick 
steps of piercing pain, a wondering but trustful query: — 
"O Lord, is this the way?" and the lips were still. They 



MEMORIAL SERMON. 



had lost their music. The harp remained — but without a 
harper. 

Let us go now beneath the surface of this busy and beauti- 
ful life to find where the hidings of its power were, and what 
gave it so large success. Behind the facts we have been con- 
sidering were the forces that made the facts, and of these 
forces the most determining, under God, were lodged in the 
soul of the man to whose memory we this day pay tribute. 

In so balanced a mind as his, with intellectual faculties 
marked by symmetry of grouping and development, and 
making a total adjustment and poise which is somewhat rare, 
it is difficult to name the conspicuous trait. 

I should say that, in the intellectual realm, what made 
largest contribution to his efficiency was a thirst fo7 r knowl- 
edge. 

This implies and necessitates natural brain power, — a good 
degree of intellectual capacity to start with. For there never 
can be an eager and prolonged thirst for knowledge without 
strong native qualities of mind behind it. Dr. Beadle had 
these. They were born with him, — the perceptive, the concep- 
tive, the representative, the logical, the imaginative. He gave 



22 



MEMORIAL SERMON. 



them wise use and development, and they grew up together, a 
symmetrical whole, far above the average of power. 

His thirst for knowledge was partly due to this base fur- 
nished by nature. But it was also due to the constant indul- 
gence he gave it. It was both a child of nature and a child 
of culture. He used to say his scientific tastes were born in 
him ; and so they were. But what would have become of 
these native aptitudes, if he had not whetted their appetite by 
early and constant gratification ? Thirst for knowledge in- 
creases as it is slaked. The more it gets the more it wants. 
Satiety here is one of the impossibilities. 

Dr. Beadle, when a boy, felt the native thirst, and wisely 
gratified it. It grew more and more intense under his indul- 
gence. His early advantages for learning were most meagre. 
He never had the discipline and culture either of college or 
theological seminary. In maturer years it was a constant 
marvel to him how boys could throw away their opportu- 
nities, and with characteristic modesty he would say if he 
had had the facilities of mental training and acquisition that 
some had, he believed he would have known something. 

When only twelve years of age he commenced, at his own 
instigation, the collection and the study of shells ; was on the 



MEMORIAL SERMON. 



23 



look-out for books that would give him any information about 
them ; collected every variety possible by purchase, personal 
search and exchanges ; learned their names, localities, and 
habits, and classified them. Afterwards he took up minerals, 
and pursued their study in the same way, and one of the 
principal zests of travel in subsequent years was in making 
these researches and gratifying these tastes. While these 
pursuits came to be a recreation to him, in which he was re- 
freshed and girt anew for the tension of toil, they were no 
mere idle dalliance. It was his intense desire to know, that 
pressed him out in these fields. The best proof of this is the 
testimony of his peers in the University management that he 
died ''a scientist of recognized position in several specialties." 

But his eager thirst for knowledge was the constant spur 
to effort in other directions. He attacked language after 
language, ancient and modern, Western and Oriental, and in 
all he touched, he attained a creditable efficiency. He read 
extensively and rapidly, but thoroughly and systematically, 
often pursuing together five different courses of reading, as 
theology, science, biography, history and travel. 

In fact, this hunger of the mind so pushed and pressed him 
to intellectual attainment his whole life long, and got for him 



24 



MEMORIAL SERMON. 



such varied and rich knowledges, that one of the chief sur- 
prises of his death to me, and I am sure to many others, was 
the revelation that this ripe and cultured scholar had never 
been at college or seminary. 

In the realm of volition, Dr. Beadle's most marked charac- 
teristic was tenacity of purpose. 

Doubtless he did not so impress men on slight or super- 
ficial acquaintance. For his will was not of the stiff, rugged, 
obtrusive kind. It did not roughly and rudely antagonize 
you. It was willowy. It bent readily. It swayed with the 
strong wind. But its roots struck deep, and it held. There 
was a pervasive and regnant quality in this good man's na- 
ture, as we shall see, that made it impossible he should be wil- 
ful. He did not bear down on men by sheer force of will, and 
violently break their opposition. He did not push a cause to 
success, or a work to completion, by a bold, dogged, defiant 
determinativeness. But when a thing was once intelligently 
and conscientiously undertaken, he held to it with a quiet te- 
nacity that usually meant victory, and yet with so rare a sinu- 
osity that it disarmed opposition, and at the same time took 
away the sting of its defeat. Persistence, therefore, strongly 
marked this gentle soul. 



MEMORIAL SERMON. 



25 



In proof whereof see his battle with ill-health. From his 
boyhood, his whole life was a struggle with bodily weakness. 
At seventeen, physicians told him he would never see 
twenty. Professor Benjamin Silliman, sr., of Yale College, a 
warm friend, once said to him : — " Beadle, if your soul could 
be shot into a healthy body, what a power you would be." 
Most men would have succumbed to the weakness. Dr. 
Beadle determined to be a power notwithstanding the weak- 
ness. But what a long, brave fight it was. Thrice, at least, 
he came back from Death's very door ! Again and again the 
frail body imperiously cried " Halt !" to the toiling brain, and 
drove him from his field. But again and again he sought 
another field, with more favorable climatic conditions, and re- 
sumed the toil. His highly nervous temperament gave him 
quick rebound from prostration, yet it was always in close 
alliance with the mind in making drafts on his vitality. Think, 
now, what he made himself, notwithstanding this impeding 
body — think what accumulations of knowledge he secured — 
think how he wrought, and endured, and achieved ! With 
what persistent zeal and courage he led this, his last charge, 
through years of doubt and defection, struggle and sacrifice, 
until, on the very last Sabbath of his life, his long-cherished 



26 



MEMORIAL SERMON. 



purpose was accomplished ! Surely record like this he could 
never have made, in such conditions, without a great deal of 
tenacious fibre in his will. 

I pass now to speak of another conspicuous trait, in what 
may be termed the ethical realm of his nature, — a conscience 
for details. 

Attention to minutiae was one of his cardinal qualities. 
Nothing was trivial to him that pertained in the least to 
worthy doing, or that made any one happier. It was one of 
his favorite maxims : — " There is always time enough to do a 
thing well." And fidelity in attending to the minutest things 
he made a matter of conscience. 

Some will doubtless deem this no virtue, and no road to 
greatness. They believe, with Bulwer, that you should 
" never get a reputation for a small perfection, if you are try- 
" ing for fame in a loftier area ; the world can only judge by 
" generals, and it sees* that those who pay considerable atten- 
" tion to minutiae seldom have their minds occupied with 
"great things." But see the myriad "small perfections" 
upon which God has laid out such infinitely delicate skill and 



MEMORIAL SERMON. 



27 



care in all his works,' and read there the refutation of this per- 
nicious teaching. It is not attention to little things, but stay- 
ing with them, and grasping nothing more, that both makes 
and proves littleness of soul. 

But when conscience enters this realm, and pays heed to 
details for high ends and uses, trifles cease to be trifles, and 
become linked with immortal life and God. 

A conscience for details leads to accuracy ; and the failures 
of some good men here have almost justified the statement 
that " a blunder is worse than a crime." 

A conscience for details leads to method, and method has 
carried far more causes than genius. 

A conscience for details keeps little flaws out of great work, 
and makes character safe, and life's results sure for God. 

For exact scholarship it is indispensable. For the happiest 
adaptation in preaching it is of unspeakable value. For the 
fullest discharge of pastoral trust there is nothing to take its 
place. 

Dr. Beadle had it. Impulsive, quick, ardent, of irrepressible 
energy, he was yet absolutely methodical. This is a rare 
combination. It makes the boldest of paradoxes. But look 
where we will in his life we find the truth of it. In his study 



28 



MEMORIAL SERMON. 



or cabinet he could lay his hand on anything wanted, at a mi- 
nute's notice. He kept a cabinet account, a tithe account, an 
expense account, and was scrupulously exact in them all. All 
money which came to him was strictly tithed — presents and 
all. He did not invest his money, and then tithe its income. 
But when salary or any money was received, he immediately 
took out a tenth, and wrote the amount in his account-book, 
and it was often distributed before the day was done. 

Punctuality was a part of his being. An intimate friend tes- 
tifies : — " Of the many appointments we made together, I never 
" knew him to fail in one. At the hour specified he was in his 
" place." "I will meet you on the fourth day of July, at a 
"particular room, in London," said he to a friend, when leav- 
ing for Sweden, one month previous ; and notwithstanding all 
the contingencies of travel, on the fourth day of July, and at 
the appointed place, he laid down his carpet bag. 

Passing rapidly through a crowd or hospital, seldom would 
anything escape his notice. Riding on a railway, and appa- 
rently looking through the window, in a reverie, it would be 
found on interrogation that the flora and the geology of the 
region had not escaped him. 

But it was in his pulpit and closet, where this conscience for 



MEMORIAL SERMON. 



2 9 



details tied the man of God to individual souls, that it did chief 
service. He was not content simply to preach to masses, or 
to pray for crowds. While avoiding with instinctive delicacy 
and tact anything like offensive personalities in the pulpit, he 
was ever aiming at known individual need. Every Sabbath 
morning it was his custom to look carefully through the flock, 
that no special want of any heart might be overlooked in the 
public devotions. Among the papers in his table drawer could 
always be found a quarter or half-sheet of sermon paper, with 
a memorandum of names, headed " Special." And this was a 
list for whom he wrestled in secret. As one after another was 
brought into the fold, others took their places on a new mem- 
orandum. Some names were carried this way through all the 
thirteen years of his pastorate in this City. And on the last 
memorandum that was left, some names appear that had been 
on every list ! 

Do you wonder that this fervid heart gained victories ? 

But the chief glory of Dr. Beadle's character I have yet to 
name. His intense thirst for knowledge, his tenacity of pur- 
pose, and his conscience for details, were all elements of power 
in his life, and contributed materially to his success. The 



3o 



MEMORIAL SERMON. 



first kept ever widening the domain of his knowledge of truth 
and fact, and gave him his large accumulation. The second 
held him to great tasks in circumstances often the most try- 
ing and adverse. The third gave accuracy to his wonderful 
despatch, and harnessed his impulsive, ardent, restless energy 
to the exactest method. But the trait of all others that 
stamped his individuality, and made him the man he was, was 
in the heart-realm, a deep, subtle, pervasive and potent sym- 
pathy. 

I do not mean by this, mere fellow feeling with another in 
suffering and sorrow. But a broader and more pervasive 
quality, catching by quick intuitions every changing phase of 
human experience, and every condition of life, and every mood 
of nature, and putting the soul at once in sympathetic contact 
with it. It is the quality that, by subtle, but almost infallible 
perception, discovers the spirit of an occasion, and suggests the 
fit word for it, while it gives to the word the very tone and 
spirit that stamp it as the coinage of the heart. 

Dr. Beadle had this quality. It was the glory of the 
man. It kept " thirst for knowledge " from making him a dry 
cyclopaedia of digested information. It kept "tenacity of pur- 
pose " from pushing him Violently and needlessly against op- 



MEMORIAL SERMON. 



31 



posing wills. It kept " a conscience for details " from nar- 
rowing his soul to mere minutiae. It put his knowledge to 
helpful use. It gave his tenacious purpose its sinuosity and 
rare adjustableness. It gave significance to particulars and 
details, grouping and blending them, and linking them with 
lives and truths. Above all it put him alongside Nature's 
heart, and the heart of man, and the heart of God. 

How he loved his minerals and shells ; they were his recre- 
ation. He soon forgot any chafing of spirit, or weariness of 
flesh, in their beauty and wonderful revelation of God's handi- 
work. But this was only one expression of his sympathy 
with, and fondness for, nature. I have seen him clap his 
hands and cry out in joy at sight of a sunset. I have seen 
him spring to flowers as if he would caress them. 

To human hearts the touch of his royally sympathetic na- 
ture was an unfailing refreshment ; and his whole being — 
the look of the eye, the play of , the features, the tone of the 
voice, the very clasp of the hand — seemed fitted of God to 
give expression to the sympathy within. In this respect he 
was exceptionally constituted. 



32 



MEMORIAL SERMON. 



" His sweetest mind 
'Tween mildness tempered and low courtesy, 
Could leave as soon to be as not be kind, 
Churlish despite ne'er looked from his calm eyes, 
Much less commanded in his gentle heart." 

And this rare and many-sided sympathy was the secret of 
his power of adaptation to the peculiarities and characteristics 
of individuals, and classes, and occasions. It put into his 
thought and speech the quality of delicate and effective rele- 
vancy ; it made him a master on the platform ; it gave him 
marked success with children, whether rough or refined ; it 
put the ignorant at home in his presence, for it kept him from 
displaying his learning in such way as to make the ignorance 
of other people painful to them; it gave him the rare accom- 
plishment of listening, not only with an air, but with a reality 
of interest and attention, to what the humblest had to say. 
" Wear your learning," says Chesterfield, " like your watch, 
in a private pocket, and bring it out when called for." This 
maxim of a worldly politeness, springing from policy, was the 
law of Beadle's heart, springing from sympathy. 

This same quick, intuitive, pervasive sympathy filled his 
mouth with such sweetness in the chamber of sickness, and 



MEMORIAL SERMON. 



33 



in the habitation .of sorrow, that his lips were " like lilies 
dropping myrrh." On funeral occasions it gave him a won- 
derful effectiveness. Witness the first funeral in his Hartford 
charge. It was the first death in the newly organized church. 
There had just been a railroad horror. One of the victims 
was a prominent member of Dr. Beadle's church, and a " be- 
loved physician." Looking from the pulpit down upon the 
face of the dead, he pointed to it significantly, and lifting his 
eyes to the crowded and hushed assembly, he said : — " Breth- 
ren, there lies the first of our dead !" And at that utterance 
he paused a moment, then broke again the oppressive still- 
ness : — "The first, but not the last. Henceforth, for us the 
" gates of death stand wide open, day and night. God only 
4< knows who'll pass through next." One who was present 
says : — "A more effective enforcement of a timely and im- 
" portant lesson from a great and sudden bereavement, I 
'■* have never known made by a single sentence." 

But this supreme and varied sympathy, so marked in Dr. 
Beadle's nature, had its most precious and most potent ex- 
pression when he talked with God in prayer. Here he seemed 
to feel the presence of an infinite tenderness, and it stirred his 

whole being, and all the ardor and unction of his sympathetic 
4 



34 



MEMORIAL SERMON. 



soul found a voice. At times his very countenance would 
take on an expression as if he had caught a glimpse of the 
glory of the face of his Lord, with whom he was holding 
communion. He keenly felt the deep poverty of his own 
spirit by nature, and he knew the heart histories of many 
of his people, their yearnings, struggles, weaknesses, defeats 
and victories ; he knew how some of their lives were " signed 
" on every side with crosses ;" he knew, too, the shut as 
well as the open doors, the resistances, and preferences, and 
lying refuges, the moods of doubt and fear, and even despair, 
the wills, active, sluggish, pliant, defiant — and he bore them all 
to God with a marvelous rhetoric. Here, as nowhere else, his 
heart taught his lips ; and his heart could never have been 
such a teacher if it had not been wonderfully taught of God. 
Out of some spiritual rock of God's word he always got the 
honey that sweetened his mouth in public and private devotion; 
and to-day the savor of his prayers is one of the most precious 
and fragrant memories connected with this man of God, in 
every parish where he lived and toiled. 

A great faith, and a great humility, and a great knowledge 
of the Scriptures, and a great love for Christ, and a great sym- 
pathy with souls, could alone have let him in, could alone let 



MEMORIAL SERMON. 



35 



any one in, to these secrets of power in spiritual fellowship at 
the blood-bought mercy seat. 

And so we see it was no human cunning that gave this 
preacher of righteousness his skill. His natural gifts had 
human culture, but both gifts and culture were uplifted, glori- 
fied, and given their chief charm and effectiveness by God's 
grace. 

Standing in your presence, at your request, members of the 
Second Presbyterian Church in the City of Philadelphia, to pay 
this tribute of my heart to your sainted pastor, I can say of 
him, as he said in this place, three years ago, of his immediate 
predecessor in the pastorate of this historic Church: — "He 
kept the royal succession." He had something of Whitefield's 
fervor, of Tennent's public spirit, of Sproat's fondness for all 
the pursuits of science, of Green's punctuality in engagements 
and scrupulosity in pecuniary transactions, of Janeway's gen- 
tleness, which is said to have been " the law of his heart and 
life," of Cuyler's force and activity and magnetic power over 
young men, of Skinner's unction and pathos, and of Shields' 
modesty and culture. 

I repeat his question to you, which he put three years ago. 
It is as if the gathered voices of the past spoke from this vacant 



36 



MEMORIAL SERMON. 



pulpit, this memorial day, saying : — "What will you do with 
" this ancient heritage of God ? You have entered into 
" other men's labors. You are a ground that has been wet 
" with the tears of godly men and women, and upon which 
" the beaded sweat has fallen from the faces of men mighty in 
" conflict and great in toil. You hold the sacred trusts of the 
generations. What will you do with them ?" 

When these words were uttered by Dr. Beadle, he was your 
pastor, " still on duty." I bring them back to you from his 
fresh grave. They are eloquent now, as they were not even 
then. For it is as if they came through his dead lips out of 
heaven. Men and women of Philadelphia, what will you do 
with this ancient heritage of God ? I charge you " Give answer 
in saintlier hearts and godlier deeds." This memorial service 
will have little meaning to him or to his Lord, if it do not 
mean to you consecration. 

Let the past we have had in review this day be prophecy of 
the future. Out of this death compel a resurrection. Make 
Elias R. Beadle's best memorial, your future lives. 



Funeral Addresses. 



Rev. John DeWitt, D. D. 

I ADD to yours, dear friends, my own profound regret that 
my honored colleague, the Rev. Dr. Boardman, whose 
place I have been called to take at this time, is unable to be 
present, and to speak out of his abundant knowledge and warm 
friendship of the eminent pastor and citizen at whose burial 
we have gathered. Their relations were so intimate and so 
long continued that he would have filled a place in this ser- 
vice with a propriety to which, of course, I can lay no claim. 
It is tTiis regret, and only this, that diminishes the mournful 
pleasure I have, in uniting my voice with those of my breth- 
ren, in recalling the talents and attainments, the cultured gifts 
and graces of heart and life, whose unexpected removal to 
another sphere has made so large a vacancy in this City and 
the Church of Christ. 

The hour is not, nor are the circumstances of our assem- 
bling suited to detailed narrative of life, or elaborate analysis 



38 



FUNERAL ADDRESSES. 



of character. The service is sacred to personal recollections 
and to the lessons of death. 

I knew of Dr. Beadle, long before I had the pleasure of 
his personal acquaintance, as a man whose intellectual life 
was many sided, whose sympathies and attainments had won 
for him a cordial welcome into many circles, attendance on 
one of which, usually exhausts one's time and interest and 
power of enjoyment. In literature, in science, in current 
public affairs, and in theology, he was uncommonly well 
versed : and it would have been difficult to touch a large sub- 
ject in any one of these departments of learning or life, with 
regard to which he had not formed carefully an opinion, or, 
at least, received intelligently an impression. What one of 
our most thoughtful writers says of the rich man was true, in 
another sense, of Dr. Beadle: — " He was always and every- 
where at home." He was a true cosmopolite : a citizen of the 
intellectual world. 

We do not usually associate this broad culture with inten- 
sity and ardor. We are apt to think that it is the man of one 
idea who is aflame ; that it is the sectary that manifests con- 
suming zeal. And I confess that I should not have been sur- 
prised to find that, through his breadth of cultivation, he had 



REV. JOHN DEWITT, D. D. 



39 



lost somewhat his capacity of enthusiasm in his sacred call- 
ing. But when I came to know him, I found, what you all 
know so well, that he was aflame with zeal : that " his heart 
throbbed and glowed with evangelical emotion," and that all 
other tastes and enthusiams were utterly subordinated to the 
growing passion and increasing purpose of his life, to know 
nothing among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 
Such a union of breadth and ardor marks an uncommon man. 
Such a man was your pastor. His apostolic ordination was 
but the Church's official acceptance of a man of apostolic de- 
votion : and he but bade you follow his own example when he 
besought you, by the mercies of God, to yield your bodies 
living sacrifices as your reasonable service. 

I met him first, after he had turned the point that marks the 
term of middle life. He had passed' the grand climacteric ; 
and was moving swiftly towards the goal of three score years 
and ten. That is a period of life which we suppose is tinged 
with sombreness. It does not surprise us to learn that a man 
at sixty-four doubts himself, believes the world is growing 
worse, and recalls better days that have gone. But this was 
not his habit. A large measure of Christian faith and hope 
was his. He was a Christian optimist. The last time I heard 



4o 



FUNERAL ADDRESSES. 



him converse, he gave eloquent and animated expression to 
his confidence in the triumph of Christianity. And you who 
cannot have forgotten his Thanksgiving sermon, the last of 
his published discourses, remember with what graphic narra- 
tive and with what vivid imagery, he portrayed the drift of 
Divine Providence, the trend of all human events toward the" 
final supremacy of our Holy Religion. 

Breadth of culture, ardor in Christian labor, and undaunted 
hope ! When I name this trinity of traits, I reveal the secret 
of his large success in his sacred calling. God grant His 
Church many ministers, prepared by a like learning, aflame 
with a kindred zeal, and animated by his exalted confidence ! 

Death teaches its own lessons better than, man's words can. 
The event impresses more deeply, than can human eloquence 
the truths that it is inevitable and uncertain. But this is all 
that death can do. It cannot read its own riddle. It cannot 
dissipate its own darkness. But the darkness has been dissi- 
pated. Our hearts to-day sing Te Deiim Laudamus. We 
take up the song of the Holy Catholic Church, to Him who 
hath abolished death and brought life and immortality to 
light : " When Thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death, 
Thou didst open the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers." 



REV. S. W. DANA. 



41 



That Kingdom was opened to him. He has entered upon its 
glories. None of his gifts are lost, though lost to us, they are 
for a little while. That generous culture, let us not doubt, is 
utilized in larger work. His ardor manifests itself in seraphic 
devotion before the throne of God. Only his hope of his 
own triumph in Christ is lost forever ; and that is lost only 
because transmuted into eternal fruition. 



Rev. S. W. Dana. 

T T seems but yesterday, so quickly pass the weeks and 
A months, since Dr. Beadle stood in my pulpit to offer 
sympathy and consolation to me in an hour of sore bereav- 
ement. In one of the opening sentences of his beautiful ad- 
dress on that occasion, he said : — " I am not able to join in 
" one petition of the Episcopal Prayer Book, in which it is 
" asked to be ' delivered from sudden death.' " 

Last Monday morning, when I heard the startling news of 
his death, so entirely unanticipated by him and by us all, the 
first thought which came to me after the shock was, Doctor 
Beadle died as he wished to die. He was not called to waste 



42 



FUNERAL ADDRESSES. 



away in the hospital, he fell on the battle field, with his face 
to the foe, with the fullest confidence in his Captain and 
Leader. For him there are no regrets, the sorrow is with us 
who are to " see his face no more." 

Every cloud which overhangs the valley has its upper and 
under side. Beneath is darkness, above is light. As we press 
up the mountain side, we often find ourselves enveloped in fog 
and mist and with difficulty keep to the path, but pushing on 
we rise above the cloud, and reach the top. From that ex- 
alted height we take in the glorious view of the hill and val- 
ley, the river, lake and mountain as they stretch out beyond 
us. We are on the under side of the cloud to-day and our 
hearts are heavy and sad. Could we stand with him in that 
upper home to which he is so suddenly called, could we enter 
into his experiences, and have revealed those visions which 
have been opened to him in their glory and beauty, our tears 
would at once be dried, and sorrow would give place to joy. 
For us the world is lonelier without his presence, but for him 
we cannot mourn. 

His was a completed life. It was full, well rounded, widely 
useful and influential, through the entire consecration of his 
diversified gifts to the Master he served. I do not stand here 



REV. S. W. DANA. 



43 



to eulogize. I shall not attempt even any general estimate 
of his character. But such an occasion as this ought to make 
a deep impression upon all our hearts and especially upon 
those of us who are in the ministry. 

I would, if possible, have this preacher whose voice is now 
silent speak to us who are preachers through his death. It is 
a call to come higher, to make our years tell for good ere 
they pass from us. 

The ministry of Dr. Beadle was an honored one, and the 
spirit in which he toiled is worthy of imitation by those of us 
who come after. His was a young heart to the last. His 
genial smile, his warm grasp of the hand, his cordial welcome 
to the young men in the ministry, cannot- be forgotten. He 
had no petty jealousies, no apparent fear of being pushed 
aside by those younger in the ministry than himself. To him 
the field was the world, a big, needy world, with ample room 
in it for all genuine Christian toilers. 

He was a continuous student and worker to the end, never 
feeling he could rest upon past attainment or success. He 
kept abreast of the times and did not give the sermons of a 
generation ago to the people of to-day. With all the de- 
mands of the pulpit and of the public, he did not neglect his 



44 



FUNERAL ADDRESSES. 



pastoral duties, but was attentive to the sick, bereaved and 
troubled, a "son of consolation " to the sorrowing, and ready 
alike to adapt himself to the home of joy. 

His work on earth is over. Some man may ask : — " What 
" of such a life? Great and useful as it was, it will soon be 
" forgotten." It is true men fall in the high places of the City 
or the nation, and the world goes rushing on without them. 
Those whom we call pillars in Church or State are removed 
and the foundations still remain. But what if the many do 
forget, is the influence lost ? This edifice, so beautiful, solid 
and enduring is yet to crumble. A century hence the name 
of Beadle may only be known in the annals of the Church. 
But his work cannot die! Think of his ministry in New 
Orleans, Rochester, Hartford, Philadelphia ; think of the 
numbers who through him have been won to Christ and es- 
tablished in the faith ; of the young men induced by him to 
preach the gospel and who have gone forth with his impress 
upon them. They are to preach while his voice is silent. 
When they pass hence they are to leave others to take their 
places. Their's is influence widening and multiplying beyond 
the range of human computation. 

If we lived for fame ; for the mere hope of being remem- 



REV. CHARLES A. DICKEY, D. D. 



45 



bered among men, to have our names kept fresh as the gene- 
rations pass, we might well despair. Only a few in each gen- 
eration are permitted to say or do that which is remembered 
a century. With fame or name as the goal, life is hardly 
worth living. But if we toil for our risen Lord, for the sin- 
ning and suffering of our day, our work shall last with Christ's 
Kingdom forever. 

" Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us : and es- 
" tablish thou the work of our hands upon us : yea the work 
" of our hands establish thou it." 



Rev. Charles A. Dickey, D. D. 

IT seems strange that there should be all this drapery and 
darkness and distress that indicate the sorrow of death, 
and the voice be silent that has here so often soothed you with 
its sympathies ; strange that there should be so many mourn- 
ers, that the whole church should be in grief, and yet the heart 
that was always so ready to give you consolation refuse to 
comfort you. We hesitate to disturb the silence that but 
yesterday was full of the familiar voice that we shall hear no 



4 6 



FUNERAL ADDRESSES. 



more till we catch it in the chorus of rejoicing saints. But 
we beg the privilege of laying some tributes of love upon the 
casket that contains your sacred dust. We feel the grief of 
the little girl that went a few weeks ago to visit him at his 
study. He was very -fond of children, and none knew it bet- 
ter than the children. I am thankful for nothing more that 
his life has contributed to me, than for the benedictions he 
has left in my household, and the memorials that shall keep 
his name sacred and his love in remembrance. " Let me 
knock," said the little girl, full of hope — her heart panting for 
his friendly welcome — but no answer ; she knocked again ; si- 
lence was her answer, for he was out upon some of the many 
errands that filled his life so full of work, and leaning against 
the wall, in her disappointment, she could only say : — " We are 
not very happy." So we listen and wait and only silence an- 
swers : — He has been called away; he heard a knock; the 
Master has come and called for him ; he has gone out; the 
busy room, the home, the church, every place and post he 
filled with such faithfulness is empty, and " We are not very 
happy." But it is not all sorrow. Death has taken what we 
cannot replace, but his magnificent life has left us a legacy that 
we keep ; this finished furnished temple, whose complete con- 



REV. CHARLES A. DICKEY, D. D. 



47 



secration was the determination of his soul, and which only 
last Sabbath rang with the anthem of his happy heart, that 
seemed to break in the reaction of its joy, while it stands 
two words will be a monument of his faithfulness and a mem- 
ory of his work. But the glory of the material is lost in the 
greater splendor of the spiritual. The truth he told us with 
such power ; the way of life that he defined with such clear- 
ness ; the legacies of love that he has scattered in two conti- 
nents, giving us here the larger portion, the personal friendship 
that we cherish, the rich consolations of our hours of sorrow, 
the elegant scholarship that won our admiration, the endless 
labors whose fruits we enjoy, but above all, the inspiration and 
beauty of all, the spirit of Christ that his whole being absorbed , 
that his whole life reflected ; this is the legacy left to console 
us in our loss ; it is a life that never can be told, only they 
have it who felt it in the near relations of life and labor, whose 
privilege it was to stand in the circle where it cast its light. 
Its accomplishments were splendid, but it was himself we 
loved ; it was the power he wielded in his contact with men 
that made his life so impressive. Some men, like mountains, 
seem grander in the distance, but he revealed the fineness of 
his life under the glass of close friendship. It is an anthem 



4 8 



FUNERAL ADDRESSES. 



that we cannot tell ; we may remember how it moved us, but 
only this broken harp could execute it. It was a picture to 
stand and study ; we may tell that it was beautiful, but only 
they who saw it can know its worth. The tree looked state- 
ly while it stood among its fellows, but its girth and greatness 
impress us more so suddenly fallen in our midst. We will 
miss the sharp spur of his untiring energy, for he was a model 
in his ceaseless zeal, often whipping his willing spirit when his 
weak flesh was pleading for rest. There is a double surprise 
in this sudden departure ; both the time and manner of his 
going seem strange ; but it is a time that he would have 
marked in his own calendar. If we could not keep him we 
should be glad that his going was so glorious, translated from 
the very summit of success ; standing on finished work, not un- 
der the crush of sad failure, and on the evening of a Sabbath, 
whose sermon was an anthem, the melody of which will lin- 
ger long in this temple, to lay off his harness in the street, 
and turn into a friendly home and meet rest and reward almost 
without a struggle, it all seems a fitting close for such a life. 
But who dreamed that the heart would receive the shaft of 
death ? Ah, this need be no surprise, his head . and hands 
were faithful but his heart carried the burden of the work. 



REV. CHARLES A. DICKEY, D. D. 



49 



This was the fountain to which we all went for refreshment. 
No wonder when he taxed it so constantly that it should 
fail; no wonder that the wheel that never rested was brok- 
en at the cistern ; that the pitcher that filled so many vessels 
from its fullness should be broken at the fountain. With his 
mantle he has swept the flood and passed over. On every 
side we hear it : — " The Lord has taken away your Master 
from your head." We would not call back the chariot that 
has carried our Elijah to the rest he has so often described, 
but we do crave his mantle and will be glad to part it among 
us that many may be blessed. Let his words spoken here last 
Thanksgiving day call us from our sorrow : — 

" I hear the trumpet call, not sounding a halt, but to quicker 
time in the march." 

" We do not want mere ascension robes, but girdles for 
" the loins. Our post is not on Olivet, that we may gaze 
" into heaven, but in the fields, where the battle is sorest; in 
" the highway, where men come and go." 



5o 



DEATH OF DR. BEADLE. 



The Presbyterian, January ii, 1879. 



DEATH OF DOCTOR BEADLE. 



THE Presbyterian ministers of Philadelphia, as they gath- 
ered together at their usual meeting for prayer and con- 
ference on Monday morning last, were startled and grieved by 
the news that one of their most beloved associates had been 
called during the night previous to enter the shadows of death. 
It was with awed and sorrowful hearts that they worshiped 
together, and when it was formerly announced that their 
friend and brother, Dr. Elias R. Beadle, pastor of the 

l 

Second Presbyterian Church, was no more among the living, 
all felt that God had spoken to them in a voice most distinct 
and solemn, and that a great void had suddenly been made 
in the pleasant brotherhood. 

Dr. Beadle's departure was sudden, and while there were 
sharp pains in the last hours, it was graciously ordered that 
the hours of pain should be brief. He preached in his own 
pulpit on Sabbath morning last, preached with his usual vigor, 
and it was thought with more than his usual earnestness. He 



THE PRESBYTERIAN. 



51 



was excited with the favorable result of the effort, which has 
engaged the attention of the congregation for some time past 
— the effort to pay the large debt which rested upon the beau- 
tiful edifice in which they worship. Dr. Beadle was able to 
announce on last Sabbath that a large part of this debt was 
paid, and that an arrangement had been made by which the 
remaining part would be assumed by a number of persons in 
the congregation. And having made this statement, he ex- 
pressed the joy of his heart at the consummation of this work, 
and thanked God that he had lived to see the day of its ac- 
complishment, which he declared to be one of the " best days 
of his life. 

When he left the pulpit a number of his friends gathered 
around him»to congratulate him, and talking with them in his 
genial, pleasant way, he passed out of the house of God for 
the last time. On the way to the residence of Mr. Horace 
W. Pitkin, his brother-in-law, at 1824 Deiancy Place, he ex- 
pressed his feeling of enjoyment in the day, even in the brac- 
ing wintry air ; but before he reached the house was observed 
to be ill. He was assisted into the house, and his friend, par- 
ishioner, and physician, Dr. Agnew, sent for. He rallied 
somewhat from the first severe attack, but the spasms of pain 



52 



DEATH OF DR. BEADLE. 



returned, and a little after midnight, and in the end very 
quietly, he breathed his last. He spoke but little, owing to 
the great pain which he suffered ; but once he was heard to 
say. " O, Lord, is this the way?" and afterwards he repeated 
it, " O, Lord, is this the way?" His disease, we believe, 
was that known as angina pectoris. 

Dr. Beadle's ministry was a long one, and was quite a 
varied one. He was born in Cooperstown, N. Y., in 1812. 
He never was in college or in a divinity school. Largely 
he prepared himself for his work. He was licensed to preach 
by the Black River Congregational Association. When a 
young man he was a pastor in the Presbyterian Church at 
Albion, N. Y., and while there the longing desire entered his 
heart to preach the gospel on foreign soil, and after some 
years of pastoral services he joined the Syrian Mission at 
Beirut, though forced, through the disorders in that city, to 
spend the first few months in Jerusalem. His station, we be- 
lieve, while in Syria, was on the mountains of Lebanon. His 
health broke down in the mission work in a few years, and he 
returned to America to recruit. While here a field of labor 
opened to him in the city of New Orleans, and he spent 
several years in that city as pastor of the Prytania Street 



THE PRESBYTERIAN. 



53 



Church, assisting also, as he once told us, in the editing of a 
Presbyterian newspaper which was then published there. 
From this station he came to take charge of the Pearl Street 
Congregational Church in the city of Hartford. Here he 
passed a number of years, filled with unceasing activity, and 
gathering abundant fruit from his ministry. After his resig- 
nation of this Church he spent some time in Rochester, and 
was called to the First Church in that city, but feared the 
climate and came to Philadelphia, where he received a call to 
the Second Presbyterian Church, then in Seventh street below 
Arch, and began the successful work which was closed, with a 
rounded fullness and completeness most singular and wonder- 
ful, on the morning of the first Sabbath of the opening year. 

Dr. Beadle had many rare qualifications as a minister of 
the Gospel of Christ. He had a personal magnetism which 
attracted a great m iny persons to him strongly. In the sick- 
room and in the houses of sorrow he was quite unrivaled. 
Some of his prayers and addresses at the burial of the dead 
linger in our memory as more thoroughly adapted to the time 
and place than any we have ever heard. His heart was full 
of sympathy for the troubled, and he was a rare comforter of 
the sorrowful. His preaching, too, was of a high order. He 

/ 



54 



DEATH OF DR. BEADLE. 



had a genius for preaching. He held strongly, and with in- 
creasing tenacity, the great doctrines of the Gospel of Christ. 
He discussed large and fruitful topics, and he discussed them 
thoroughly ; he poured fourth a rich stream of discourse, 
sparkling all along its way with illustrations, and swelling 
with the rising tide of the speaker's emotions to a grand and 
striking close. We have seen great audiences listen with un- 
divided attention to this eloquent preacher as he unfolded the 
Word of God and pressed its divine truths upon them with an 
earnestness which would not be denied, holding them steadily 
as he pleaded with them for his Master, and for their own 
soul's welfare. 

He furthermore met men at many points outside of the 
pulpit, and concerned himself with affairs not ordinarily 
touched by ministers of Christ. He was an earnest student 
of science, and loved the company of scientific men. He 
was greatly interested in all the natural sciences, knew much 
of mineralogy and geology, and was especially fond of shells, 
and it is said had the largest and finest collection belonging to 
any private person in the country. He himself was wont to 
tell his friends that there was a place at the foot of Mount 
Lebanon, on the shores of the sea, which he had searched so 



THE PRESBYTERIAN. 



55 



often and so carefully for shells that it came to be known as 
" Beadle's Garden." He was a member of the Academy of 
Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, and was greatly respected by 
his associates. He had travelled much and observed well, 
and in social life he was exceedingly attractive. His family 
consisted of a wife, three sons and two daughters. One of his 
sons is Rev. Heber Beadle, of Bridgeton, N. J. 

Dr. Beadle's loss will be severely felt, but his work was 
done, and well done, and in one of the crowning hours of his 
life he was called up to the rewards of heaven. And our es- 
timate of that life, now that it has closed, may be fitly ex- 
pressed by some of his own words, in which he sums up all 
that may be said of the best life: — "There is a past which 
" memory can recall, with its sunny spots and rich experiences ; 
"and we enjoy the beautiful, the good, and the gladness of 
" life past far more than in the actual transit and toil. * * * 
" There is a present. It is here — real, earnest, tangible. It 
"talks with us; is charged with opportunities, brings great 
" work, grand issues, and the outlook of every step, and every 
" gaze in it, is a future. To-morrow is ever at the gate ; 
" sounds its coming as a trumpet call. Towards that future 
"we pitch our tent; we make plans for its occupancy; we 



56 



DEATH OF DR. BEADLE. 



" discount its opportunities, its very wealth, and hope never 
" fails to appoint for the time to come. * * * I would 
" not live alway. No well-instructed mind would do that. 
" When our work is done, sooner or later, let us be gone. 

" The life that compasses onr appointed task is long enough" 



"O LORD, IS THIS THE WAY?" 
By William S. Plumer, D. D. 




MONG the last words of dear Dr. Beadle, were these : — 
" O Lord, is this the way ?" 



Yes, O yes, thou loving brother, thou faithful servant of 
God, this is the way ; not the way that thou wouldst have 
devised, perhaps, nor the way that any of thy earthly friends 
would have chosen for thee. But it is the way appointed by 
infinite and unerring wisdom, and selected by eternal and un- 
changing love. It is not in man that walketh to direct his 
steps across the Jordan, or anywhere else. A wise man would 
rather, if it were possible, die twenty times than be compelled 
to decide when, where, and how he shall leave the world. If 



REV. WILLIAM S. PLUMER, D. D. 



57 



God determines such things, there will be no error, no mis- 
take. If man determines it, a fool will be arranging matters 
of which he knows nothing. 

And yet, dear brother, the way the Lord took to remove 
thee from us is mysterious to us, and no wonder it seemed so 
to thee. Almost all of us have our plans for leaving the 
world ; that is, we never foresee just how it will be. Thy re- 
moval was so sudden, so unlooked-for by any of us, at the 
time when thy vigor seemed unusual, there was but a step 
between thee and death. One wintry blast seemed to do the 
whole work. 

God's ways are never as our ways. The Saviour went to 
his Father by the cross. His way was much rougher and 
darker than thine. Thy death, dear brother, was agonizing. 
Thy Master's death was excruciating. He was forsaken by 
friends, and mocked by enemies. But thou didst leave us 
surrounded by friends, who lovingly ministered unto thee. 
He died under the wrath of God, and with a dreadful sense of 
His Father's displeasure against Himself as a sin-bearer. But 
thou didst leave the world with the certain knowledge that 
thy sufferings were not for propitiation. He tasted death for 
every man, and drank the cup of the wine of the wrath of God. 



58 



DEATH OF. DR. BEADLE. 



But thou left us in the peace of the redeemed, and had no cup 
held to thy lips but the cup of salvation. By His sufferings 
the Redeemer took away the sting and bitterness of death 
from all who believe. Jesus foresaw all his sufferings, and for 
years and years knew all that was coming, and so He, as it 
were, died a thousand deaths. But from thee God in mercy 
concealed the time and the manner till thy hour came. 

When tjie Lord died, His work was done ; and when thou 
didst breathe out thy great and loving spirit thy work was 
done, though man knew it not till the Master called for thee. 
His decease was accomplished in the very best time — the time 
fixed in the counsels of infinite wisdom and everlasting love ; 
and so was thine, though thy loving people could no more see 
it so than did the disciples see how seasonable was their 
Lord's departure. 

Jesus overcome and sat down with His Father on his throne ; 
and thou hast overcome and sat down with thy Lord on His 
throne. He entered heaven by His own merits ; and by the 
same infinite. and glorious righteousness, counted to thee for 
pardon and acceptance, thou hast entered heaven too. Where 
thy Lord is there thou art also. He has many crowns on His 
head, having all authority. And when all the blessed fruits 



DR. BEADLE'S PRAYERS. 



59 



of the faithful ministry shall be harvested thou shalt have a 
crown of rejoicing not the less glorious because unmerited. 

True, thou hast left loved and loving ones to weep for thee ; 
so did thy Master. His mother must have been the very pic- 
ture of woe when that prophetic sword pierced through her 
soul. Thy body lies dead and cold, but it sleeps in Jesus. It 
is as much united to Christ in death as it was in life. And 
them that sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. Because 
Jesus is risen thou shalt rise. Thy death, like the voice of 
Christ, says to each of us : — " The night cometh when no man 
can work." 

Farewell, thou blessed servant of the Lord. We shall have 
an early meeting and a blessed greeting in the world above. 



DR. BEADLE'S PRAYERS. 



BY MISS HUBBELL. 

AMONG the many graces which adorned the pastorate of 
the late Dr. Beadle none was more prominent than his 
extraordinary " gift in prayer." Whether viewed from the in- 



6o 



DEATH OF DR. BEADLE. 



tellectual and cultured standard of ideas clothed in glorious 
and impressive language, readiness of thought, fluency of ex- 
pression, fervency of spirit, ardor of delivery, and delicacy of 
manner ; or as the exponent of the hungry and needy soul, 
whose wants and desires he fathomed, and with the bond of 
union which his sympathy created between himself and his 
hearer, he vocalized the unspoken and imperfectly formed 
longings, bore them to the throne of grace in accents so 
sweet, in entreaties so gentle, in trustfulness so childlike and 
simple, in petitions so apt and touching, and in praise and 
thanksgiving so graceful, abundant and happy, that one indeed 
felt himself praying, with heart and soul, led by the dulcet 
voice and fluent tongue of this gifted man of prayer. 

In this department of his profession he was inimitable ; he 
was not excelled ; and this talent proved a crowning glory, 
as it was a vitalizing principle of his ministry : and it ever 
will remain a source of sweet remembrance to the one who 
offers this slight tribute to the honored memory of Dr. 
Beadle. 



THE OBSERVER. 



61 



The Observer, New York, January 9, 1879. 




LL too soon for the church, but not too soon for him, 



" has been suddenly called to his rest and crown. A tele- 
" graphic despatch from George H. Stuart, esq., on Monday 
" last, followed by another from Rev. Dr. W. E. Schenck, 
" brought to us the sad intelligence in these words : — 

" 4 Doctor Beadle, after preaching yesterday morning an 
" 1 extraordinary congratulatory sermon on the removal of 
" ' the debt on the splendid new edifice of the Second Presby- 
" 1 terian Church, stated that he felt unusual vitality. On his 
" ' way to his home he was seized on the street with an affec^ 
" ' tion of the heart and was taken to his brother-in-law's, Mr. 
" ' Pitkin's, where he expired this morning at one o'clock. 
" ' The sudden death of this eloquent divine has cast a solemn 
" 1 gloom over this City.' " 

" Dr. Beadle was one of the best men in the Presbyterian 
" Church, loving, earnest, eloquent, and greatly successful in 
" the ministry. He was a missionary of the American Board 
" in Syria, from 1839 to ^43, and returning from foreign 



the Rev. Dr. Elias R. Beadle, of Philadelphia, 



62 



DEATH OF DR. BEADLE. 



" fields, he was a pastor in Albion, N. Y., New Orleans, 
" Rochester, Hartford, and Philadelphia, where he labored 
" for fourteen years and has been eminently useful. He was 
" a prominent member of the Presbyterian General Council in 
" Edinburgh in 1877, and was the Chairman of the Commit- 
" tee of Arrangements for the Council of 1 880. Possessed of 
" great executive ability, he was active and skilled in the af- 
" fairs of the church. Of affectionate piety and tender sympa- 
" thies, he was a beloved pastor, a comforter and friend in af- 
" fliction, and earnest in winning souls to the Saviour. He 
" leaves a wife, three sons and two daughters. 

" Dr. Beadle was a man of varied accomplishments. A 
" student of natural history, he was a fine conchologist, and 
" his collection of shells was very extensive. But all his at- 
" tainments were subsidiary to his great work of preaching 
" the gospel. 

" The sad event was announced at the crowded prayer 
" meeting in the church on Fifth avenue and Twenty-ninth 
" street, by the pastor, Dr. Ormiston, who presided. Tender 
" addresses were made by Drs. S. I, Prime and E. P. Rogers, 
" both of whom were warm personal friends of Dr. Beadle, 
" to whose loveliness of character and great usefulness they 



THE WITNESS. 



63 



" bore the strongest testimony. Deep sympathy was mani- 
" fested in the large assembly. 

" At the time of our going to press we have little informa- 
" tion in regard to the funeral services, a notice of which must 
" be deferred." 



"'the sudden death of Dr. Beadle. Dr. Beadle was the 
' ' ' guest of Mr. Nelson at the late Pan-Presbyterian Council, 
" ' and was appointed the chairman of the American Com- 
" ' mittee to make arrangements for the next Council, which 
" ' convenes in this City in 1880. — Philadelphia Inquirer." ' 

• " We notice elsewhere, with regret, the death of the Rev. 
"Dr. Beadle, of Philadelphia. We well remember his dig- 
" nified presence and thoughtful face at the Pan-Presbyterian 
" Council in Edinburgh. We were favorably impressed with 
"his matter and manner during the meeting, and considered 
" him one of the best of the many brilliant representatives of 



The Witness, Belfast, January 24, 1879. 




R. George H. Stuart has sent a cable despatch to 
" ' Mr. Thomas Nelson, of Edinburgh, announcing 



DEATH OF DR. BEADLE . 



" Presbyterianism which America sent to that magnificent 
" Ecclesiastical Congress. He was very eager to have the 
" next meeting of the Council in Philadelphia, his own city, 
" and when our own Dr. Knox was urging the claims of Ul- 
" ster, as the mother of American Presbyterianism, he wittily 
" remarked ' that in his country it was customary to see the 
" daughter before going to the mother.' This sally disposed 
" of Dr. Knox and of Ireland. It is melancholy to think that 
" he has been cut off without witnessing the meeting to which 
" he looked forward with such interest. Dr. Beadle will 
" also be remembered by many of our readers as the Ameri- 
" can Deputy to the General Assembly in Dublin, in 1871. 
" At that time he also preached in two of our Belfast churches. 
" His sudden death will be deeply regretted by the many 
" friends his amiable and genial disposition made for him in 
" this country." 



The Times, Philadelphia, January 7, 1879. 



REV. Elias R. Beadle, D. D., LL. D., the eminent 
"divine and scientist, pastor of the Second Presby- 



THE TIMES. 



65 



" terian Church, in this City, died at the residence of his broth- 
" er-in-law, Horace W. Pitkin, No. 1824 De Lancey place, of 
" angina pectoris, or neuralgia of the heart, at one o'clock yes- 
" terday morning, after an illness of only about twelve hours, 
" in the sixty-seventh year of his age. Dr. Beadle preached 
" a sermon, full of power and vigor, on Sunday morning, his 
" subject being ' Christ vindicated,' and he said from the 
" pulpit that it was the happiest day of his life, because he 
" was able to announce to the congregation that the debt 
" upon the church had all been provided for. He was often 
" heard to say that he should consider his life-work ended 
" when the debt upon his church was paid. As he was leav- 
" ing the church after the services on Sunday, Mr. Hazletine, 
" one of his parishioners, came up and wished him a happy 
" New Year. 1 And I wish you a happy New Year and many 
" of them,' replied the Doctor, ' and I think you will see 
" more of them than I shall.' 

" ' I don't know,' said Mr. Hazletine, ' you seem good for 
" a good many years yet.' 

4< ' Well,' replied Dr. Beadle, ' I never felt better, mentally 

" or physically, than I do now.' He then started with Mr. 

" and Mrs. Pitkin for their house, in De Lancey place, where 
6 



66 



DEATH OF DR. BEADLE. 



" he was to dine. As they passed the corner at Nine- 
M teenth and Spruce streets a terribly cold blast of wind struck 
" them in the face, and Dr. Beadle threw up his hand and 
" turned around with his back to the wind. He then took a 
" few steps and stood leaning- against the wall. When Mr. 
" Pitkin approached and asked him what was the matter, he 
" replied that he could not breathe. Mr. Pitkin took his arm 
" and supported him to the house. On the way Dr. Beadle 
" said : — ' It is getting dark.' He was placed upon a sofa and 
" restoratives applied and Dr. D. Hayes Agnev/, his physician 
" and friend and a member of his church, was summoned and 
" did all that medical skill could suggest for his relief. Dr. 
" Beadle suffered the most excruciating agony in the chest 
" until about five o'clock, when the anodynes which had been 
" given him began to take effect and he became somewhat 
" easier. He gradually sank, but retained consciousness to 
" the last. He spoke but little, however, owing to the great 
" pain which he suffered. He was heard to say: — ' O, Lord, 
" is this the way ? ' And afterwards he repeated it, ' O, Lord, 
" is this the way ? ' 

" Dr. Beadle was born on the thirteenth of October, 1812, 
" at Cooperstown, New York. He was the graduate of no 



THE TIMES. 



67 



" college, but owed his great learning almost entirely to soli- 
" tary study. He was a man of unbounded courage, strength 
" of purpose and faith. No obstacle was great enough to de- 
" ter him from a course of action which his reason and con- 
" science approved. In 1839 he went to Syria as a mission- 
" ary, under the direction of the American Board of Foreign 
" Missions. After remaining there four years he was com- 
" pelled to retire on account of a war breaking out in the tribe 
" in which he was laboring. In the meantime he mastered the 
"Arabic tongue, which he spoke with great facility, as well 
" as German and French, up to the time of his death. On his 
" return to this country he went to New Orleans, where he 
" organized three churches, of one of which — the Prytania 
" Street Church — he was pastor for several years. In 1852 he 
" removed to Hartford, Connecticut, where he became the first 
" pastor of the Pearl Street Church, remaining there ten years. 
" In 1862 he went to Rochester, New York, but the climate 
' affected his health unfavorably, and in 1865 he came to this 
' City and took charge of the Second Presbyterian Church, 
' then located on Seventh street, below Arch. The Second 
' Presbyterian Church was founded by the great George 
' Whitefield about 1743, and its pastors before Dr. Beadle 



68 



DEATH OF DR. BEADLE. 



" were Gilbert Tennent, John Murray, James Sproat, Ashbel 
" Green, J. N. Abeel, Jacob J. Janeway, Thomas H. Skinner, 
Joseph Sanford, Cornelius C. Cuyler, and Charles W. 
" Shields. When Dr. Beadle took charge of the church it 
" was greatly run down and its membership was very small, 
" Under his charge it became one of the largest in the City, 
"its regular attendants numbering about six hundred. In 
" 1867 it was decided to sell the old building on Seventh 
" street, and a lot was purchased at Twenty-first and Walnut 
" as a site for a new edifice. In the meantime the congrega- 
" tion worshiped one winter in the old Horticultural Hall, 
" where the St. George Hotel now stands. Then a small 
" chapel was built on the new lot, where the congregation 
" worshiped until the Fall of 1872, when they moved in the 
" new building. It was the debt upon this edifice which gave 
" the good man so much anxiety, and the payment of which 
"made him so happy on the day that, his life-work ended, he 
" went home to die. 

" In addition to his eminence as a theologian, Dr. Beadle 
" was a scientist of hi^h standing;. He was well informed 
" upon all the sciences, but his specialties were mineralogy 
" and conchology. In the latter science he was one of the 



THE TIMES. 



6 9 



" very highest authorities in America, and he was the owner 
" of a splendid collection of minerals and shells. He was a 
" member of the Academy of Natural Sciences and one of the 
" trustees of the University of Pennsylvania. During the 
44 past year he took an active part in the formation of the 
44 Society for Organizing Charitable Relief and Repressing 
44 Mendicancy, and at its first annual meeting at Association 
" Hall, not long ago, he made an admirable speech in its be- 
" half. He was a man of genial disposition and boundless 
44 charity and was dearly loved by thousands. The Presbyte- 
" rian Ministerial Union yesterday adopted a minute highly 
44 eulogistic of Dr. Beadle, as a man of accurate scholarship, 
44 broad culture and wide intellectual attainments. The funeral 
" will take place at the church on Friday next. 



7o 



DEATH OF DR. BEADLE. 



Transcript from Minutes. 

Second Presbyterian Church. 

Philadelphia, January 13, 18 yg. 
T a meeting of Session, held this evening in the Chapel, 



il the following Resolutions were adopted, and a copy 
of same directed to be sent to the family of the deceased. 



Whereas :— It has pleased the Great Judge of all the earth 
to remove from us by sudden death our dear and much belov- 
ed pastor, the Rev. Elias R. Beadle, D. D., on Sabbath 
night, January 5, 1879, on the morning of which day he 
preached to us a most beautiful and impressive sermon from 
these words : — " And without controversy great is the mys- 
" tery of Godliness : God was manifest in the flesh, justified in 
" the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, be- 
" lieved on in the world, received up into glory." I. Tim- 
othy, j : 16. Translated as it were from our very sight into 
the presence of the Infinite Glory, almost like the Prophet 




M. S. STOKES, 

Clerk of Session. 



RESOLUTIONS, SECOND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 7 1 



Elijah of old, we feel desolate and sad of heart, that we 
shall see his face no more, or hear his loving voice pleading 
for us at the Throne of the heavenly grace, and beckoning us 
onward and upward to enjoy " the rest that remaineth for the 
people of God;" but humbly bowing to the will of our 
Heavenly Father in this hour of our great and unexpected 
bereavement, as a Session, and as a church, pray it may 
quicken us into new life, and result in a fresh baptism by the 
Holy Ghost upon us as a congregation; therefore — 

Resolved : — That we recognize with humble hearts the hand 
of God in thus removing from us our under Shepherd, and 
feel we have lost a great leader and teacher in heavenly 
things ; a zealous worker and loving pastor, and a true and 
faithful friend : his wife, a loving and devoted husband ; the 
church universal, a great leader and eminent divine. 

Dr. Beadle had few equals ; and although a profound 
theologian and teacher, and highly scientific man, yet in all 
was manifest that Christ-like humility of spirit that made him 
a power in the presence of the most gifted and learned, and 
also attracted childhood in its pureness and simplicity, like 
magic. 



72 



DEATH OF DR. BEADLE. 



As a preacher of righteousness he was clear, forcible and 
impressive ; always at his post in the sanctuary ; by the bed- 
side of the sick, among his own people and strangers alike. 
Patient and cheerful in all his toil, ever pointing souls heaven- 
ward and to Christ. Thus can be said of him as by the great 
Apostle of old : — " I have fought a good fight ; I have finish- 
" ed my course ; I have kept the faith ; henceforth there is 
" laid up for me a crown of righteousness which Christ the 
Lord shall give me at that day." " Duty done, the victory 
won," he stands within the Gates, "accepted in the beloved." 

As a scientist, he had but few superiors in the departments 
to which he devoted himself, and brought his knowledge, like 
a vast treasure house, to his aid in presenting the great truths 
of salvation ; for he saw God in everything and everywhere, 
and each new discovery in nature and science but enlarged 
his desires and quickened his love for God. 

Resolved: — That we tender to his estimable and bereaved 
wife and children our heartfelt sympathy and condolence in 
this severe hour of trial, made more afflictive to Mrs. Beadle 
as following the counsel of her beloved husband, in what 
seemed the path of duty, she was by a mysterious providence 



MINUTE, SECOND PRESBYTERTAN CHURCH. 



73 



thus prevented from ministering to him in his last illness. 
We pray God may enfold them in the mantle of His love, 
and be to them husband, father and friend ; and grant them 
grace all sufficient to " cast all their care upon Him who 
careth for them," and finally bring them one and all home to 
join him in " the song of redeeming love, to Him who sitteth 
upon the Throne, and to the Lamb forever and ever." 

M. S. STOKES, 

H. LENOX HODGE, 

Committee. 



Minute. 

At a Meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Second 
Presbyterian Church, held January 9, 1879, tne following 
Minute was adopted : — 

As it has pleased God in His sovereign wisdom to bring to 
a sudden termination the labors of our beloved pastor, the 
Rev. Elias R. Beadle, D. D., by calling His servant from the 
church below to the company of the redeemed above, we the 
Trustees of the Second Presbyterian Church in the City of 



74 



DEATH OF DR. BEADLE. 



Philadelphia, deem it proper to record, in a formal manner, 
some expression of the loss which we, as individuals, in com- 
mon with the whole Church and the community at large, 
have sustained in his death. 

Dr. Beadle's life was in an eminent sense bound up in 
the Second Presbyterian Church. With a rare constancy he 
adhered to her fortunes during that eventful period of migra- 
tion between the removal from Seventh street and the occupa- 
tion of the present church edifice, and amid all the discour- 
agements and embarrassments which have attended her strug- 
gles never for a moment wavered in his fealty to her interests, 
even though frequently invited to other and apparently more 
desirable fields of labor. 

As a preacher Dr. Beadle was a man of commanding 
power. His manner of presenting gospel truth was inimitable 
and peculiarly his own. The gospel which he preached was 
the glorious gospel of the Son of the God. Christ was the 
burden of every theme. The grand old doctrines of the New 
Testament were enumerated with no uncertain sound and 
without dilution or apology. Elegant in diction, clear and 
concise in statement, glowing in illustration and leveled down 
to the capacity of a child, his sermons were " like apples of 



MINUTE, SECOND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 



75 



gold in pictures of silver," and delivered as they were with 
commingled earnestness and tenderness, and in a voice re- 
markable for its melody and unction, they never failed to con- 
vince the understanding and move the heart. 

Recognizing the harmony between religion and positive 
science, Dr. Beadle did not confine his studies within the 
sphere of theology alone. His industry was prodigious and 
untiring, his learning and culture large and varied. He had 
not only mastered the classical, Continental and Oriental lan- 
guages, but had achieved a wide reputation in certain depart- 
ments of natural science. These large possessions were all 
laid at the feet of Jesus and pressed into service in illustrating 
the great themes of gospel truth. 

Nor was it in the pulpit alone where the character of Dr. 
Beadle shone so conspicuously. As a pastor he was tender 
and faithful. Like a loving shepherd he looked after the 
wants of his flock — he knew every sheep by name and the 
lambs were the cherished objects of his love. To live until 
the financial incubus of his Church was removed, and to 
die in the harness, were two oft-repeated wishes of this noble 
man. How literally have both been fulfilled. The battle 
won, the victory achieved, the Christian soldier lays aside the 



7 6 



DEATH OF DR. BEADLE. 



armor of conflict, and wrapping about him his mantle falls 

asleep. 

In fine, distinguished as a preacher, faithful as a pastor, 
learned as a scholar, and sincere as a friend, we cannot fail to 
mourn his departure, though well assured that our loss is his 
exceeding and eternal gain. 

Whilst we thus affectionately testify to the gifts and graces 
of our beloved pastor, we do at the same time tender our 
heartfelt sympathy to the members of his bereaved family. 



Extracts from Minutes of Sabbath-School Teachers' 
Association of the Second Presbyterian Church, 
held Monday Evening, January 20th, 1879. 



" The address in memoriam Rev. E. R. Beadle, D. D., read 
"before the Sabbath-School, Jan. 12th, 1879, by Associate 
" Superintendent W. L. Mactier, was ordered entered in full 
" upon the minutes of the Association. It was as follows :— 

" My dear children and fellow-teachers : — ■ 

" Our New Year's festivities have suddenly been turned into 



EXTRACTS FROM MINUTES. 



77 



" mourning ; our smiles into tears. Last Sunday, our beloved 
" Pastor, Rev. Dr. Beadle, visited us in this chapel, and, but 
" a few evenings ago, addressed us, prayed with us, and 
" blessed us, after our Christmas song of praise. His voice 
" we shall no more hear. His work on earth has been accom- 
" plished, and the wearied laborer has gone to his reward. 

" Dr. Beadle was a watchful observer of children, for he 
" loved them ; he was ever at home among them ; he added 
4< to their joys, sympathized in their troubles, and delighted to 
" instruct them. How gently did he approach them, and how 
" patiently did he labor to win their confidence. Though his 
" form we shall no more see, may we not hope that his fa- 
" therly counsel will be treasured in our memories, and, 
" sanctified by the Holy Spirit, lead us all to Christ. It was 
" for this he prayed, and how can we better revere his memory 
" than by giving our hearts to that Saviour, who has said : — 
" ' Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them 
"not, for of such is the kingdom of God.' 

" A great sorrow has come upon this Church, and we stand 
" within the shadow of death. But to him whom we mourn — 
" ' there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, 
" ' neither shall there be any more pain ; for the former things 



78 



DEATH OF DR. BEADLE. 



" ' have passed away.' Like a shock of corn, fully ripe, he 
"has been harvested home; or, like the weary husbandman, 
" he has been called from toil, to hear the gracious commen- 
" dation — ' Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou 
" into the joys of thy Lord.' Your lives, dear children, will 
■" be beautiful just in the degree in which you are taught by 
" the Spirit, love the truth, obey God's law, and follow our 
" blessed Saviour. 

" The goodness of Dr. Beadle was imprinted on his coun- 
" tenance. He spoke ill of no one ; he avoided finding fault ; 
" he thought of all persons charitably, and believed that the 
" grace of God was sufficient to ennoble the most defective 
" character, and sanctify the most corrupt nature. 

" The humility of Dr. Beadle was one of his most con- 
" spicuous virtues. His varied attainments ; his extensive 
" acquaintance with the most learned of every profession, and 
" his knowledge of the Oriental languages and literature, 
" naturally gave him high rank among scholars and preach- 
" ers, but he seemed unconscious of any superiority in him- 
" self. Goodness and greatness, when united, make us 
" humble. ' By humility and the fear of the Lord, are riches, 
" and honor, and life.' So, in the providence of God, was 



EXTRACTS FROM MINUTES. 



79 



" our revered Pastor, in due time, called from tent-life in 
41 Syria, as a missionary, to the pastorate of the historic 
14 Second Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia; and, from the 
" beautiful cathedral, where for years he had worshiped, he 
" has been translated to the ' house, not made with hands, 
" eternal in the heavens.' 

" Dr. Beadle was complete in his mental endowments and 
44 moral culture. He had interrogated Nature, and been led 
" up to Nature's God. He had studied science, and ever 
" found it in harmony with the Divine revelation. He had 
44 ranged through the fields of literature, and culled its choicest 
" flowers. His theology was derived from a careful study of 
" the Bible, which was the 4 man of his counsel/ and the in- 
44 spiration of his prayers. All his rare acquirements, all his 
" powers of mind and body, all his social influence, were con- 
44 secrated to the grand work of preaching the gospel and win- 
44 ning souls to Christ. His style of preaching was peculiarly 
44 his own — full of nerve power — ever fresh, and at times rising 
44 to the highest flights of oratory. His thoughts were clothed 
44 in clear, simple, and beautiful language. His reading was 
44 perfect, whether in prose or poetry. Truly, his was a com- 
plete character, with base, and shaft, and capital, all in per- 



8o 



" feet proportion. He had grace, strength and symmetry in 
" happy combination. 

" The last utterances of our pastor were those of joyful ex- 
" ultation. A noble work had been achieved as the result of 
" his ministry. The Church had become enlarged in its mem- 
" bership ; a crushing debt had been provided for ; peace, har- 
" mony and love pervaded the congregation. His cup was 
"full; and, in the gladness of his thankful heart, he an- 
" nounced to his people that that Sabbath was the most blessed 
" of his life. Truly was it the earnest, the foretaste of that 
" Sabbath which knows no end. Then followed one of his 
" finest discourses, the subject being ' Christ vindicated' — ' the 
" mystery of godliness.' ' God was manifest in the flesh, justi- 
44 ' fled in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, 
" ' believed on in the world, received up into glory. — I Tim., 
" ' j : 16." His animation was remarkable, his voice round and 
" clear, and his whole being seemed absorbed in the glorious 
''theme. What a blessed ending of a blessed life! How 
" nearly had he finished his course ! How near was the 
" heavenly crown ! Within an hour after the service the 
" Angel of Death smote him, and called him to that rest 
" which remain eth for the people of God. 



MINUTE OF THE PRESBYTERY OF PHILADELPHIA. 8 I 



" ' It is little mattei- at what hour of the day 

" The righteous fall asleep. Death cannot come 

" To him untimely, who has learned to die. 

*' The less of this brief life, the more of heaven; 

" The shorter time, the longer immortality.' — Dean Millman. 



T the meeting of the Presbytery of Philadelphia, yester- 



" day afternoon, the following Minute was adopted': — 



" The Presbytery of Philadelphia records not only with 
" profound regret for its own loss, but with tender submission 
" to the will of God, the removal from the roll of the name 
"of the Rev. Elias R. Beadle, D. D., LL. D., who was sud- 
" denly summoned from earth, by death, this morning at one 
"o'clock. Dr. Beadle was a scholar of great, varied and 
" accurate attainments ; an eloquent preacher, a sympathetic 



" True copy. 



Attest- 



JOS. P. KNORR, 

" Secretary." 




7 



82 



DEATH OF DR. BEADLE. 



"pastor, a judicious presbyter, a warm friend, a spiritually- 
" minded and earnest Christian. His associates in the Pres- 
"byterymust always remember him with the warmest love 
" and the deepest admiration. To the members of the family 
"who have so suddenly been bereaved of a deeply affection- 
" ate husband and father, and to the church whose historical 
44 and important pulpit he occupied for fourteen years, with 
" such ability and success, the Presbytery extends its warmest 
44 sympathy — the sympathy of itself a bereaved body — in their 
il bereavement. 

" It would especially record the pleasure with which it 
" has understood that in his last public service, which he 
4 held yesterday morning, Dr. Beadle was able to an- 
' nounce to his beloved congregation that the full amount 
4 for the removal of the debt which rested on their edifice 
4 had been subscribed, and that the day was, therefore, a 
4 4 glorious ' one. And, in truth, it was to him, in a higher 
4 sense still, a 4 glorious ' day, for during its closing hours 
4 his soul was approaching the land of glory, into which 
4 he entered very soon after the New Year Sabbath, with 
4 its record of his last sermon, had carried its account to 
4 the judgment bar. Warned by the suddenness of this 



MINUTE, PRESBYTERIAN MINISTERIAL ASSOCIATION. 83 



" visitation the members of the Presbytery would lay to 
" heart its lessons, and number their own days. Who 
" next ? Let all be consistent, faithful, earnest, laboriously 
" engaged in the Master's work, and richly ready, at any 
" hour, to enter into His joy." 



Presbyterian Ministerial Association. 



T a meeting of the Presbyterian Ministerial Asssociation, 



held January the 6th, 1879, tne following Minute was 
passed unanimously. 

The Rev. Elias R. Beadle, D. D., LL. D., Pastor of the 
Second Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia, having conduct- 
ed the morning service of yesterday, during which he deliv- 



[Signed.] 



"R. M. PATTERSON, 
"JOHN DeWITT, 



"A. NEVIN. 



Minute 



OF THE 




84 



DEATH OF DR. BEADLE. 



ered a sermon entitled " Christ vindicated" and congratulated 
his congregation that the subscriptions for the payment of the 
debt on their church edifice were completed, suddenly became 
ill, and at one o'clock this morning entered into the rest that 
remaineth for the people of God. 

We deem it fitting to record our sense of the loss which 
we, in common with the Church of Christ, the City, his con- 
gregation and his family, have sustained in his death. 

Dr. Beadle was a man of accurate scholarship, of broad 
culture, of wide intellectual sympathies. His love of truth 
was ardent, and his pursuit of truth was incessant and labori- 
ous. In science, literature and theology his attainments were 
large and conspicuous. 

These intellectual possessions, and the eminent talents by 
which they were achieved, he joyfully devoted to the promo- 
tion of the highest well-being of his fellow men, through the 
ministry of the Gospel of Christ. 

In this sacred calling he was loved and honored in every 
position he was called to fill, and by all the churches to whom 
he ministered. His preaching was able and faithful, and in his 
labors as a pastor he was untiring. The Head of the Church 
abundantly blessed his work and gave him many souls. 



MINUTE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



85 



We tender respectfully the expression of our sympathy to 
his stricken family and to the church he served so faithfully 
and well. 



University of Pennsylvania, 



T a meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Universi 



JT\- of Pennsylvania, held January 7, 1879, the death of the 
Rev. E. R. Beadle having been announced by Mr. Frederick 
Fraley, the following Minute, offered by the Right Rev. 
Bishop Stevens, was unanimously adopted : — ■ 

The Board of Trustees of the University, having learned of 
the sudden death of the Rev. E. R. Beadle, D. D., desire to 
put on their records the following Minute. 

The Rev. Dr. Beadle, ever since his becoming a member 
of this Board, has taken an active and intelligent part in its 
deliberations. Punctual in the discharge of all his duties, 



JAS. M. CROWELL, 
JOHN DeWITT, 
TRYON EDWARDS, 



Committee. 



Minute 



OF THE 




86 



DEATH OF DR. BEADLE. 



watchful over the interests confided to him, efficient in the 
important committees of this Board, of which he was a mem- 
ber, he necessarily exercised a wise and healthful influence 
over our proceedings. Possessing large intellectual gifts, 
which he sedulously cultivated, versed in a wide range of 
human learning, a scientist of recognized position in several 
specialties, a theologian of eminent ability, and as the head 
of a large and influential congregation who loved and hon- 
ored him for his pulpit power and pastoral cares, the Rev. Dr. 
Beadle stood before this community a public man of the 
highest character as a citizen, as a scholar, as a clergyman, 
and we do but justice to his memory, and to the services which 
he rendered to the University, when we place on record this 
our feeble tribute to his real worth, and our deep sense of 
bereavement in the loss of such a judicious and learned mem- 
ber of this Board. 

Resolved: — That a copy of this Minute be sent by the Sec- 
retary to the family of the Rev. Dr. Beadle. 

[From the Minutes .] 

CADWALADER BIDDLE, 

Secretary. 



RESOLUTION, ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES. -87 



Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 



T a meeting of the Academy of Natural Sciences of 



JL JL Philadelphia, held January 14, 1879, tne following was 
unanimously adopted : — 

Resolved: — That in the death of our late associate, Rev. 
Dr. Eli as R. Beadle, we have to mourn the loss of an ar- 
dent, reverent and sincere seeker for truth, whose attain- 
ments in knowledge were so broad and so diversified as to 
command our respect and admiration, and whose large and 
loving heart was so manifest in all his deportment and inter- 
course with us as to win our esteem and affection. We 
therefore join our sympathies with all those who have been 
bereft of his instruction, his example and his fellowship, and 
we direct that these sentiments be placed upon our records 
and a copy of the same be transmitted to the family of the 
deceased. 




EDWARD J. NOLAN, 

Recording Secretary. 



88 



DEATH OF DR. BEADLE. 



Hall of the Young Men's Christian Association, 

Fifteenth and .Chestnut streets, 
Philadelphia. 



T the February Meeting of the Board of Managers of 



Resolved: — That by the decease of Rev. Elias R. Beadle, 
D. D., there will be missed a friend and father, whose pro- 
found learning, undoubted wisdom, hearty sympathy and ex- 
tended influence among the churches of our City, could al- 
ways be relied upon, and were repeatedly of greatest service 
to the Association. 




this Association, it was — 



[From the Minutes ^\ 



ROBERT SIMPSON, 

Recording Secretary. 



Memorial Tribute 

TO 

REV. ELIAS R. BEADLE, D. D., LL. D., 



Late Member of the Acting Committee of "The Philadelphia Society for Alle- 
viating the Miseries of Public Prisons." 



AT a Stated Meeting of " The Acting Committee " of "The 
Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miser- 
ies of Public Prisons," held first month, 16th, 1879, Joseph 
R. Chandler made the following annunciation, and presented 
the subjoined Resolutions. 

Since our late meeting, the general community has been 
called to deplore a loss in which this Society has a deep and 
painful share. The Rev. Elias R. Beadle, D. D., died very 
suddenly, on the morning of the 6th inst., and many societies 
with which he was connected have given expression to their 
respect for his high usefulness, and their grief at his unex- 
pected death. 

The numerous calls upon the time and services of Dr. Bea- 
dle, beyond those of his pastoral relations, rendered it almost 



go 



MEMORIAL TRIBUTE TO 



improper that his services as a visitor to the prison cell should 
be looked for, although it was evident that his earnestness in 
whatever he undertook, his most correct opinions of the mis- 
sion of a visitor, and especially his powerful appeals to offend- 
ers, and his persuasion to do good, would make him a most 
desirable representative of the Society, at the door and in 'the 
privacy of the cell. 

Dr. Beadle was not a frequent assistant, even in our reg- 
ular meetings. His appearance there seemed to indicate that 
he had snatched a few moments from the multitudinous de- 
mands upon his time abroad, in order to enjoy the pleasure of 
our ordinary intercourse. He undoubtedly enjoyed that in- 
tercourse because it was in the way of duty. But he afforded 
the highest pleasure to his associates by the earnest eloquence 
with which he urged to duty, by the sound judgment with 
which he pointed out the path, and by the many high motives 
which he advocated for walking in that path. None can re- 
call the occasions on which we were honored by his pres- 
ence, without a remembrance of that delightful and instruc- 
tive intercourse which must endear his memory to his fellow 
members. 

But there were times in which the interests of the Society, 



REV. ELIAS R. BEADLE, D. D., LL. D. 9 I 

and the objects of its pursuits, seemed to demand his special 
interference: It was when the means of carrying out one of 
our great objects were to be solicited from the Legislature. 
He was a most agreeable and useful associate in those mis- 
sions, for which, whoever else might ask his co-operation, he 
was, for the time, ready to be a co-worker for us. 

Of the many interesting and useful relations in which Dr. 

Beadle stood towards general society, as a scientist or a man 

* 

of general literature, as an eminent linguist, as a promoter of 
means of individual aid, as a religious teacher of distinguish- 
ed rank, it is merely justice that we should say that he stood 
most prominent among his equals, a leader of thousands who 
would travel some of the paths which he illuminated by the 
exercise of his lofty gifts. We of " The Philadelphia Society 
for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons," recognize Dr. 
Beadle's usefulness in aid of that professed object. His 
great object and efforts were to be useful. 

Such a man, so endowed and so largely esteemed, becomes 
a rich treasure to any association that may be favored by his 
approval and co-operation, and we may claim credit from the 
general community from the fact that one like Dr. Beadle 
found pleasure in our Society. 



9 2 



MEMORIAL TRIBUTE TO 



Dr. Beadle was a man of rare cultivation, as he was a 
man of distinguished eminence, forming and executing plans 
of good for his fellow beings. He was a merciful, forgiving 
sufferer, when wrongs were inflicted on himself. He was a 
vehement denouncer of offenders when flagrant wrong was 
inflicted on others. 

Unexpectedly, but not unprepared, he was called away from 
life which he adorned, from society which he loved, and from 
usefulness in which he delighted. 

The consolation of his bereaved associates must be found 
in the recollection of the lovely character of their deceased 
companion, and in the certainty that they may more easily 
accomplish their great work by contemplating the good ex- 
ample which he has left them for imitation, guided by the 
light which he threw upon their pathway. 

We may never again be favored by services so peculiar 
and so specially useful as were those of Dr. Beadle. 

And in our deliberations and in our labours we shall never 
make a mistake if we keep in mind his beautiful teachings, 
and honour ourselves in doing honour to the memory of a 

GOOD MAN. 



\ 



REV. ELTAS R. BEADLE, D. D., LL. D. 93 



Resolutions. 



Resolved: — That the members of this Association receive, 
with deep regret, the formal annunciation of the death of their 
fellow laborer in the cause of humanity, the Rev. Elias R. 
Beadle, D. D., LL. D., and while they sincerely mourn the 
loss of a most efficient associate, they feel as members of the 
great community, that there has been withdrawn one member 
whose precepts formed public sentiment ; the exposition and 
defence of which principles enlightened the public, and whose 
example was most salutary in making evident the fact that 
while the highest and most cultivated talents may be advan- 
tageously employed among those whose condition in life as- 
sures appreciation and applause, they may be made eminently 
useful in improving the mental and social condition of those 
in humbler walks. 

Resolved: — That the members of this Society recall with 
profound gratitude Dr. Beadle's willing sacrifice of valued 
time to the promotion of our Society's special plans, and they 
recollect with peculiar satisfaction, how, in seasons of diffi- 
culty, when promptness and efficiency of action were neces- 



94 



MEMORIAL TRIBUTE. 



sary, he made the offering of his valued attainments most ef- 
fectual in procuring for the Society the means of maintaining 
and extending its salutary influence. 

Resolved : — That in the multitude of deaths which have 
caused so much grief in our City, and especially in our Soci- 
ety, there can be few that deprive us of more individual sup- 
port than does that of the Rev. Elias R. Beadle. 

Resolved: — That while the principles of sound charity 
which entered into the composition of Dr. Beadle's charac- 
ter made him a friend and advocate of the sufferer in all con- 
ditions, the objects and plans of movement of this Society 
were recognized by him as peculiarly worthy of his approval 
and aid. Yet, while he was thus a friend of the friendless,, 
and the widow's and the orphan's guide, he was a bold defender 
of the injured, poor or rich ; he seemed never to have felt a 
higher pleasure in wielding his commanding eloquence than 
when denouncing the oppressor's wrong, or pleading the 
cause of " him that is ready to perish." 

Resolved : — That in token of profound respect fo>r the public 
and private character of Rev. Dr. Beadle, and in assertion of 
our high appreciation of his extensive attainments, his re- 



RESOLUTIONS, SECOND PRESBYTERIAN COUNCIL. 95 



markable purity of life, and his distinguished benevolence, 
and our endearing respect for a good man, these proceedings 
be spread at large upon the minutes of the meeting of this 
evening, and that a copy thereof be transmitted to the bereav- 
ed family. 

[Extracted from the Minutes?^ 

JOHN J. LYTLE, 

Secretary. 

Resolutions 

OF THE 

Second Presbyterian Council. 



Philadelphia, April 20, 1880. 

Mrs. Elias R. Beadle, 

Dear Madam : — 

The General Committee of Arrangements 
for the Second Presbyterian Council, to be held in this City 
in September next, have directed me to present you with a 
copy of the Resolutions passed at their last meeting, with ref- 
erence to the death of your late lamented husband. 



g6 



DEATH OF DR. BEADLE. 



These Resolutions, which were unanimously passed, are as 
follows : — 

Whereas: — The Rev. Elias R. Beadle, D. D., LL. D., 
late Chairman of this Committee and Pastor of the Second 
Presbyterian Church of this City, has been removed by death 
since our last meeting ; therefore — 

Resolved: — That in this afflictive and mysterious dispensa- 
tion of Divine Providence, the Committee reverently recog- 
nize the hand of God, and declare its deep sense of the loss 
which the church and the world have sustained. 

Resolved: — That in this eminent minister of Christ were 
happily combined the humble and devoted Christian, the fer- 
vent and faithful herald of the cross, the gifted scholar and 
scientist, the able advocate and helper of every good cause, 
and the steadfast and consistent exemplar, at home and 
abroad, of the catholicity, the unity, and the excellence of our 
common Christianity. 

Resolved: — That this Committee gratefully recognize the 
service he so ably and acceptably rendered as a delegate to 
the Council in Edinburgh, and are grieved that we shall not 



FUNERAL OF REV. DR. BEADLE. 



enjoy his presence, and active and useful aid in preparing for, 
and participating in, the proceedings of the Council to be held 
in this City in 1880. 

Resolved : — That this paper be entered upon the Minutes of 
the Committee, and that a copy be transmitted to the bereav- 
ed family. 

A true copy. 

Attest, 

M. NEWKIRK, 

Secretary. 



Funeral of Rev. Dr. Beadle. 



" The funeral of the Rev. Dr. Beadle took place yester- 
" day afternoon from the residence of his brother-in-law, Mr. 
" Horace W. Pitkin, No. 1824 Delancey Place. The remains 
" of the deceased divine reposed in a burial casket, covered 
" with black cloth and lined with white satin, and heavily 
" mounted with silver. The lid bore a plain silver plate, in- 
" scribed : — ' Elias R. Beadle, Aged Sixty-six Years/ 
" On the casket was a sheaf with full, ripened head and bound 
7 



97 



9 8 



FUNERAL OF REV. DR. BEADLE. 



" with ivy, emblematic of the life of the dead clergyman. 
" Mrs. and Dr. D. Hayes Agnew contributed a magnificent 
" floral design, consisting of a column on which was a crown 
' " composed of camelias, tea roses, and other delicate flowers, 
" surmounted by a cross of white rosebuds, and resting on a 
" base of rare flowers, in the centre of which were the words 
" in immortelles, ' Asleep in Jesus.' Another beautiful de- 
" sign was a flower basket, in the centre of which was marked 
" with letters in purple immortelles, the words, 4 Our Pastor.' 
"There were several wreaths. One was a ground-work of 
" amaranth and ivy, on which were full blown calla lilies, in- 
terspersed with heads of wheat; another was entirely com- 
" posed of evergreens, ivy and delicate ferns. There were 
"also other beautiful designs of the choicest cut flowers. 

" After a prayer at the house, by Rev. Dr. Wiswell, the cler- 
" gymen present formed in a body and proceeded to the 
" Second Presbyterian Church, Twenty-first and Walnut 
" streets, of which the deceased had been pastor, followed by 
" the relatives and friends of the deceased. The body of the 
" church was crowded with members of the congregation and 
" friends of the deceased clergyman. The choir sang 1 Rest 
" in the Lord ' as the procession entered, the casket being ac- 



DEATH OF REV. DR. BEADLE. 



99 



" companied by the following pall-bearers: — Dr. D. Hayes 
" Agnevv, Mr. Samuel Agnew, Dr. H. Lenox Hodge, Messrs. 
"John E. Graeff, Charles E. Hazeltine, Paul Graff, Mahlon 
" S. Stokes, William L. Mactier and John G. Reading. 

" Among those present were Right Rev. Bishop Stevens, 
" Rev. Dr. Richard Newton, of the Protestant Episcopal 
" Church ; Rev. Dr. McCosh, of Princeton College; Rev. Dr. 
" Childs, of Hartford, Conn. ; the Session of the church of 
" Rev. Heber Beadle, the members of which came in a body 
" from Bridgeton, N. J. ; Rev. Matthew Newkirk, Rev. Drs., 
" Dickey, S. W. Dana, John DeWitt, J. A. Henry, and almost 
" all the reverend representatives of the Presbyterian Church 
" in this City. 

" After the reading of the ninetieth Psalm by Rev. Matthew 
" Newkirk, and prayer by Rev. Dr. J. Addison Henry, the 
" choir sang the hymn, ' My faith looks up to Thee/ and 
" Rev. J. H. Munroe then read the Second Chapter of Sec- 
" ond Kings. Brief addresses were then delivered by Rev. 
4 'Dr. DeWitt, Rev. Dr. Richard Newton, Rev. Dr. S. W. 
"Dana and Rev. Dr. Dickey, all of whom testified to the 
" goodness, piety and zeal of the deceased clergyman. The 
' services were concluded by the singing of the one hundred 



IOO 



FUNERAL OF REV. DR. BEADLE. 



" and ninety-third hymn, 4 Abide with Me,' the congregation 
" uniting. The members of the congregation and other 
" friends of the deceased then took a last look at the features 
" of the departed, after which the benediction was pronounced 
"and the casket was then transferred to a vault in South 
" Laurel Hill Cemetery, to await removal to its final resting 
"place in the cemetery at New Hartford, Connecticut." 



Presbyterian. 



" The Second Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia, (for- 
" merly under the pastoral care of Dr. Beadle, now deceased,) 
" has contributed the sum of $500 to establish a ' Beadle 
" Memorial Library,' in the Mission Theological Seminary, 
" Bey rout, Syria. 

" The Seminary needs a library of well-.selected volumes 
" for the use of students, who are now sufficiently instructed in 
" English, in the Syrian Protestant College, to be able during 
" the theological course to avail themselves of the advantages 
" of English books. It is quite fitting that this should be 
" done by the church of which Dr. Beadle was, while living, 



FUNERAL OF REV. DR. BEADLE. 



IOI 



" the Pastor, as the Doctor was once a member of the Syrian 
" Mission, and always retained a warm interest in it." 



Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, 

November 27, 1880. 

Rev. Heber H. Beadle. 

My Dear Brother : — 
Your letter of yesterday has just come to hand. I regret 
to say that I had no notes of the address delivered at the 
funeral service of your loved and honored father, and I have 
now not the slightest recollection of what I said on that 
occasion. I do not see how it will be possible for me to re- 
produce any outline of the address then made. My respect, 
and love, and reverence for your dear father were so great and 
so heartfelt, that I regret this more than I can express. But 
that does not mend the matter. 

With cordial regards, I remain very truly, 

Your friend and brother, 



RICHARD NEWTON. 



/ 6 0- 



He used to say : — " When I am gone, write over me this, 
" and only this, 

"A Servant of the Lord Jesus." 

The head-stone which marks his grave has, with his name, 
this simple inscription as he wished. 



/as 



The congregation have placed in loving memory upon the 
walls of the Church, the following tablet : — 

IN MEMORY 

OF 

ELIAS R. BEADLE, D. D., LL. D., 

A SERVANT OF THE LORD JESUS. 



Born October 13, 1812. 



PASTOR IN ALBANY, 1836-1838. 

MISSIONARY IN SYRIA, 1839-1843. 

PASTOR IN NEW ORLEANS, 1843-1832. 
PASTOR IN HARTFORD, 1832-1863. 
PASTOR IN ROCHESTER, 1864. 

PASTOR OF THIS CONGREGATION, 1865-/879. 



During his Ministry this Church was built and dedicated. 



Died January 6, 1879. 



" Be thou faithful unto death 
And I will give thee a crown of life." 



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mm 

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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
Hill " 




LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



